Phantom Thieves and Truth Seekers
by LVR6
Summary: The Investigation Team goes to Tokyo to support Rise's rising career, but due to a psychotic breakdown, two of them are hospitalized. With word that a group, calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, are stealing people's hearts, Yu and his team will do what they do best; seek out the truth, and fight shadows.
1. The Incident

5/26 T.V. Studio: Tokyo

* * *

"Ms. Kujikawa, they will be ready for you in five minutes," said a well-dressed middle-aged man. He pushed his glasses up as he looked over his clipboard.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Inoue, just call me Rise," the idol said with a childish pout.

"Sorry, it's just a habit," the man apologized sheepishly. "Good luck, Rise."

"Thank you, Inoue." Rise sat in front of the vanity to ensure she looked decent as the man left. Before she could look for long, her phone buzzed. Quickly looking it over, she saw it was the group chat she had going on with her friends. While she had initially invited the entire Investigation Team, it was only Yosuke, Teddie, and Yu along with Nanako who were able to come. Yukiko has been learning how to manage the Amagi Inn for the last few weeks, so she was unable to get the time off. Naoto was swamped with detective work, and Kanji stayed to ensure she didn't overwork herself. Chie had surprisingly decided to follow Naoto's example in working for the police, and was currently interning with Yu's Uncle.

"We're lost," was what Yosuke had sent. Rise rolled her eyes with a grin and decided to call him.

"Yosuke, I thought you were from the 'big city'. How did you get lost?"

"Any city is big compared to Inaba!" Yosuke replied defensively. "Besides, Tokyo is HUGE. How am I supposed to know which building is the right one?"

"It's a T.V. station, with a giant billboard of me on it…" she deadpanned. "Just take a taxi and tell them to head over here!" She could hear Teddie in the background faintly.

"Shut up you stupid bear! Stay close or you'll get lost again! Sorry Rise, I knew I should have just met with Yu before heading over."

"He's not with you two?" she asked curiously. This time it was Teddie who answered, undoubtedly having taken Yosuke's phone.

"When is Sensei going to get here? Yosuke doesn't know where he's going."

"Damnit Teddie! Give that back!" the annoyed Yosuke groaned.

"I don't know Teddie, I haven't heard from him," Rise replied a bit disappointedly. "Listen, I got to go; got an interview. If you two hear from him, let me know, alright? I'll see you guys later!"

Rise tossed her phone to the loveseat in her room, and walked out the door.

* * *

Outside T.V. Studio

* * *

Yu Narukami sat in front of the studio, near the bus stop where he figured Yosuke would show up. Given that, Rise was currently in an interview, he figured he would show up with his two friends. Nanako was a bit nervous, mostly due to the crowds, but it was apparent she was also very excited.

"I can't wait to see Risette!" she said to her 'Big Bro'.

"It's been a long time," agreeded Yu.

"Do you think she'll like our present?"

"Of course," he assured. Nanako had a small gift bag containing a plush figure of Jack Frost. Yu had won it in a crane game back in Okina City when the two went to see a movie. He had initially given it to Nanako, but the young girl insisted that she'd give it to Rise, given that Nanako had three of them already.

"How long is the interview going to be?" she asked.

"Normally they can go anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour. That should be enough time for Yosuke and Teddie to get here," he figured. He looked down the street and saw the bus approaching. "Speaking of which, there they should be."

"Yay!" Nanako cheered, glad that Teddie was able to make it.

* * *

Tokyo Streets: Moments Before

* * *

"There is no way I'm getting us a taxi," Yosuke said to his companion. "It's way too expensive, especially since the studio is just down the street."

"Then how are we going to get there?" asked Teddie. "It's hard getting through these crowds of people…"

"You shouldn't have worn your stupid bear costume then!" Teddie audibly gasped. "Oh, quit your whining. There should be a bus that drops us off any second now."

"Hey Yosuke, do you smell that?" asked Teddie. "It smells… different than before…"

"It's probably smog. You don't really get that in Inaba, since it's such a small town," Yosuke replied, brushing him off. That moment, the bus arrived, and the two boarded. To their surprise, they managed to find a pair of seats. "Alright, we just got to take this bus for three stops. Just… try not to bring so much attention to yourself Ted."

"…"

"Ted?" asked Yosuke. He looked over to Teddie, who was still sniffing the air. "Alright, I'll bite… what do you smell?"

"It's faint…" began Teddie, still sniffing. "No… this isn't right…" Now Yosuke was a bit concerned.

"If you say something dumb like 'udon' or 'sushi'..." began Yosuke, but he could tell Teddie wasn't joking around. A few minutes passed, which felt like an eternity for Yosuke, before Teddie said a single word that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Shadows."

"Shadows?" repeated Yosuke. "In Tokyo? You're saying that after everything we've gone through, the Midnight channel, the Gran Prix, and that Dancing world… we're not done?" Yosuke didn't sound concerned anymore, but rather tired. "Man, I thought after everything with Izanami we'd be done…"

"This is different!" Teddie replied uncharacteristically serious.

"What do you mean?" asked Yosuke. "We just got to beat whoever is behind it this time, don't we?"

"No, I mean we're not in the Midnight channel!" Teddie pointed out. "My world is still peaceful, so this… this is something different. Besides, these Shadows smell different!"

"So the Shadows are in the real world?" asked Yosuke, looking around discreetly. "Where?"

"I smell them coming from in front of the bus…" Teddie replied unsure. "But…"

"Wait wasn't that our stop?" asked Yosuke, seeing the T.V. station now behind them. Suddenly there was commotion going on with the other passengers.

"Hey, driver, what are you doing? That was my stop back there!" a man in a business suit said angrily.

"You're going to make us late!" agreed a woman wearing a hospital mask. "What's the big idea?!" The bus driver didn't acknowledge the two's outburst, but turned to face the rest of the bus. To the horror of Yosuke and Teddie, the man's face was contorted in a twisted anger, and his eyes were nearly bulging out of his head. He laughed darkly as he slammed his foot on the gas.

"Teddie! Grab on to something!" Yosuke ordered, feeling the bus accelerate.

* * *

With Yu Narukami

* * *

"I guess that wasn't them," Yu shrugged. Nanako seemed to deflate a bit, before there was a loud crashing sound that caught her and Yu's attention. They turned to see the bus that had barreled through now crumpled, like an old soda can, and had black smoke rising from it.

"Big Bro…" began Nanako. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Yu said grimly. A part of Yu wanted to go investigate, but he knew he couldn't leave his cousin alone. "Nanako, go inside, and ask for Rise's manager. You remember him, right?"

"Mr. Minoru?" asked Nanako. She remembered her brief interactions with him when she had danced with Kanami and Rise a few years ago. "Yes, I remember."

"Ok, find him, and tell him to call an ambulance, I'm going to see if I can help." Nanako was hesitant, but ultimately listened and ran off inside.

* * *

T.V. Studio

* * *

"So, Risette, tell us about your new album Sapphire," the woman interviewing Rise said with a polite smile.

"Well, to be honest, the song I named the album after was the first song I wrote alone. It's about how I used to feel towards a certain person when I was still in high school, and how it's evolved as the years passed."

"So this song is about the same person as the songs you've written in the past? He must be one lucky guy to have you attention! I'm sure you have hundreds, if not thousands of fans who are envious. What can you tell us about him?"

"Well, when I met this guy, I was having a lot of doubts about my career and choices I made up until that point. I was feeling pretty down at the time… It was him, and my other friends back home, who supported me when I needed it most." Rise then let out a small laugh. "After some time with them, I didn't feel so alone anymore… I've been complimented for my looks ever since I started my career as an Idol, but it wasn't until I met my friends, best friends, that I felt like I was worth more than the peppy high schooler everybody saw me as. I felt beautiful, and worth something, although it has been ages since I have seen them, so I still feel a little homesick. So, combine those three things; value, beauty and feeling a little blue, and you got Sapphire."

"That story is incredible," the interviewer beamed. "It's not common for an Idol to leave and make such a huge comeback, so tell us how that journey was."

"It's been surreal," Rise replied without missing a beat. "Sometimes, I still don't believe it, and I feel it will disappear if I look away for too long… but you know what, I'm ok with that. To be able to live my life as if it has been a dream come true for this long… I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. I have my friends to thank for that."

"Wow, to be this popular, yet still humble. You truly are an inspiration to young women everywhere Risette. We'll continue the interview after these messages from our sponsors!" the cameras cut, and the host let out a breath of relief. "You're shining like always! It's always great to have you on, Risette."

"Thanks," Rise smiled, "but you're the one doing all the work, I'm just answering questions."

"Oh, surely you don't believe that! That tale you just-"

"Risette!" called out a young voice. Rise turned over to see Nanako standing off set with Inoue. Rise couldn't help herself and ran over to the girl, bringing her into a hug.

"Oh, Nanako-chan! It's been forever since I've seen you! Look at how big you've gotten!"

"Rise, it's Big Bro!" Nanako began, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

"Where is he?" asked Rise, looking around. Nanako looked a bit overwhelmed, so Inoue took over.

"There has been a car-accident down the street from the studio," he informed. "Ms. Dojima here informed me that Mr. Narukami sent her here. I already called an ambulance… I don't know how bad it is."

"What!?" Rise asked in shock. "Do you have any idea who was involved?"

"It was the bus," Nanako replied. "It passed by the bus stop way too fast, and I think it hit another car! Big Bro went to help!"

Rise's eyes' widened, and she ran out of the set.

"Rise!" called Inoue, but she was already gone. He then looked over to the set and muttered under his breath. "The interview…" Shaking his head, he led Nanako to Rise's room, where she could calm down.

* * *

Scene of Accident

* * *

Yu had a hard time getting to the accident, as a crowd had already formed around the scene. As he finally made it to the front, his heart sank. While the debris and broken glass stained in blood was already a wretched site, he could only focus on the patch of singed blue fur with a large zipper attached caught on a jagged piece of metal.

"Teddie!" he shouted, as he ran to the destroyed costume, and began to move what debris he could. He cut his hands on the jagged metal, but he refused to let up. After moving a particularly large piece of metal, he noticed a few people still moving inside. From their weak groans, he knew that they were severely injured. He didn't have the expertise to move them, so he opted to continue to try to free more people, but it was in vain. The pieces he had moved came from the windows or other vehicles; while the bus's body was mostly still in one piece, making it a tube-shaped prison.

"Hey get out of here," said a gruff voice. "You'll only get in the way. We got it from here."

Yu turned around and saw several paramedics and police officers arrive, as they began to push the crowds back and use tools to cut holes into the bus. Yu was dragged back by his arms to the rest of the crowd, but his concern was still very real. If Teddie had been on board, he was certain that Yosuke was too.

"Senpai!" shouted Rise, making him look over immediately.

"Rise…"

"What were you thinking?!" She began to scold, but she saw the grim look on his face. "Senpai… what's happened?" Yu unclentched his bloodied fist, and revealed the unmistakable blue fur. Rise felt her stomach tie a knot, as she fell to her knees. "No… no way…"

* * *

Hours Later: Café Leblanc

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe that a bus full of people crashed downtown…," said a customer to his partner.

"That's scary," the woman agreed. "I heard that the driver was overworked, but was denied time off. He must have fallen asleep at the wheel or something…"

"Wow, really?" asked the man. "It's amazing how quickly people come up with theories…"

"Do you know how many people were injured?"

"No idea," he said, shaking his head. "Wasn't that pop star at the scene? Risette?"

"I don't doubt it… those Idols will do anything for publicity. I can't believe she'd use people's pain to boost her popularity."

"I heard she actually cried at the scene," the man added. "Talk about amazing acting, huh?"

The door chimed, as a teenager with messy black hair came in. He wore large framed glasses, and carried his school bag over his shoulder, as he made his way to the attic. He looked absolutely exhausted, judging from his obvious slouch and heavy footsteps. He greeted the café owner as he passed, but otherwise didn't say much.

"I swear I heard a cat just now…" the man whispered.

"Really?" asked the woman with genuine concern. "I'm allergic… we should get going."

"Right," agreed the man. "Thanks for the coffee Sojiro! It was great as always!"

Sojiro, the owner of Café Leblanc, nodded as the two left. He looked over to the television the two were watching and sighed.

"Two hours…" he muttered to himself. "Two hours they sat there…"

* * *

Attic

* * *

"Hey Mona, do you think Madarame was being serious when he said there was another Persona use with a black mask?"

"I don't think Shadows of people can lie after they're defeated," Morgana replied unsure. "It would explain the psychotic episodes people have been having recently… but it still doesn't add up."

"What doesn't?" asked Akira.

"Well, killing somebody's shadow will result in the person in reality to die too. If this other Persona user is running around killing people's shadows, it wouldn't explain the other stuff on the news."

"You mean the subway incident last month?"

"Yea," nodded Morgana. "There've been a lot more incidents going on even before you got here, but this last one was particularly bad…"

Akira sighed as he took in the news.

"We should just wait patiently for Madarame's change of heart…" Morgana added, trying to change the subject. "He was supposed to file that lawsuit next weekend, right?" Akira nodded. "Alright, so let's just get some sleep, we've done everything we've can for now."

"Right…" Akira agreed.

* * *

5/27 Early Morning: Rise's Suite

* * *

"Senpai…" Rise began, her voice cracking. Yu remained quiet, not trusting his voice at the moment. He struggled enough the night before explaining to his Uncle why he needed Dojima to come pick up Nanako early. Fortunately, Dojima was more than understanding. "Do you… think they'll be ok?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. While he wanted to be optimistic, he saw the state most of the passengers were in when he tried to clear the debris off them. Add the fact that he only had a small patch of Teddie's fur to go on, it was impossible to tell for sure.

"I can't stand sitting around not knowing!" Rise sobbed, weakly pounding her lap in frustration.

"…" Yu remained silent, his mind racing with possible scenarios playing in his head. Yosuke and Teddie had to be ok; they had come close to death countless times before.

"Should we call the others?" asked Rise.

"No… They all had reasons why they couldn't come today, and they don't need this weighing down on them."

"But Yosuke and Teddie might be…"

"Might," Yu repeated firmly. "Until we know for certain, there's no point in worrying them."

"I had Inoue get some people to call the hospitals in the area… it shouldn't be long before we know which one they were taken to." Yu nodded, a sad smile forming on his face, but it quickly vanished. Now the only thing the two could do was wait.

* * *

Café Leblanc: Morning

* * *

"Are you going to answer any of those?" asked Morgana, who was awoken by the sound of Akira's phone going off in rapid fire. Said teenager sat up and opened up his messaging app to see it was a group conversation going on. After quickly catching up, he sent a quick message, mostly to let the three know he was, in fact, attentive to them.

"All done," replied Akira, falling back into his bed. "It's Sunday… what should we do?"

"What did the others say?"

"They are just worrying about Madarame and when his heart is going to change," Akira replied.

"Right, with Yusuke on our team now, we have to bring him up to speed with how it works with the Phantom Thieves… you going to show him the ropes today?"

"I think it'd be better to let him come to terms with what happened last night," Akira replied, shaking his head. "I can't imagine what he must be feeling…"

"Yea… I guess it's a lot to take in, isn't it?" asked Morgana. "I mean, I don't really remember much of where I come from, so it's kind of hard to imagine…"

"We'll help you figure out your past," Akira assured, sitting up again. "We might not be the smartest high schoolers around, but we made a deal, yea?"

"Right," Morgana agreed. "You know, it's times like this that electing you as our leader was our best decision."

"I was out voted…" Akira reminded him, with a deadpan expression. When the time came around to decide who would be calling the shots, he had voted for Ryuji, mostly because Akira didn't want to do it himself. Unfortunately, he, Ann and Morgana chose him without having to think too hard.

"You are the most qualified!" insisted the cat. "I mean we can't have dumb-ole Skull leading us, otherwise he'd lead us into an all-out brawl with every shadow that looks at him funny."

"What about Yusuke?" asked Akira.

"He's too new," replied Morgana.

"Ann?"

"While Lady Ann is a good choice, she also voted for you, so I trust her judgement."

"What if we-"

"You're not getting out of it!" interrupted the cat. Akira grumbled under his breath, but ultimately accepted his position as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He quickly got dressed for the day, and grabbed his brown school bag, so Morgana could come along with him. "Where are we going?"

"The place of my last defeat…" Akira replied vaguely.

"What are you talking about?"

"I must redeem myself." Now, it appeared that the teenager was talking to himself, as he muttered something under his breath.

"I'm lost…"

* * *

Shibuya: Central Street

* * *

"You're going to try to eat that giant burger again… aren't you?" Morgana deadpanned.

Akira simply nodded, determination etched on his face.

"Why this early?"

"After that exhausting fight last night, and the fact that I didn't eat breakfast, this is my best chance at finishing," Akira explained. He bravely walked through the automatic doors into Big Bang Burger.

"Let's do this…"

* * *

Tokyo: General Hospital

* * *

Rise and Yu went to the hospital as quickly as they could as soon as Inoue informed them about the two patients that matched the descriptions they gave. While the crowds were difficult to get through, Rise had worn large sunglasses to disguise herself enough that people didn't begin to gather around asking for autographs. Yu simply grabbed her hand and lead her through the crowds, seemingly almost effortlessly, but she knew better; he was just as concerned for their friends as she was. The two allowed themselves to catch their breaths before approaching the front desk.

"Excuse me," began Rise, "I called earlier about two friends who were involved in the bus accident yesterday… is there any way I can see them?"

"Of course, what are their names?" the man at the counter agreed politely, typing away at his computer.

"Yosuke Hanamura, and the other is… Teddie," she answered, realizing that the bear still had no forms of identification. "He was the one wearing the blue bear suit."

The man's face winced slightly as he typed in the information.

"What's wrong?" asked Yu.

"This Mr. Hanamura is hurt pretty bad… I'm not sure if he'll be conscious so soon. He is on the fourth floor, room 42. As for this Teddie fellow… I'm not seeing anybody by that name. Granted there were quite a few people involved, identifying all of them takes time, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," the two said with a quick bow. Even quicker, the two rushed towards the elevator, and smashed the fourth floor numerous times.

"I hope he's ok…" Rise began. Yu nodded, although he couldn't help but get a foreboding feeling from the room number his best friend was in. He opted to keep this to himself, figuring his dark thoughts would do little to help the situation, and in fact, would likely make it much worse.

 _Ding_

"Come on," Rise urged, before Yu grabbed her wrist. "What is it? Don't you want to see him?"

"Of course," Yu nodded.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Rise asked, her emotions getting the better of her. Yu, however, remained calm.

"Rise… yesterday at the scene…" Yu began to explain. "It was horrible… I don't think I'll ever forget it…"

"…" Rise looked at him, now feeling a bit uneasy.

"If Yosuke or Teddie ended up like the passengers I saw… I don't think I want you to see them…"

"What are you saying…?"

"Just… let me go in first…" he requested. Rise let out a hallow laugh.

"Wow…" she said, wiping a tear from her face. "Even now… you're still looking out for me… But Yosuke is my friend too…" Yu looked at her, expression unreadable, and let out a sigh. He held his hand out.

"Together?" he asked, to which Rise nodded, feeling a wave of nerves flood her system. She grabbed his hand, and the two began walking over.

Room 40…

Room 41…

Room 42.

* * *

Shibuya: Big Bang Burger

* * *

"It's official," Morgana said, shaking his head. "You're insane."

"I think you meant to say *burp*, _successful_ ," Akira replied smugly.

"How are we going to go anywhere after this? You barely look like you can move."

"I'll manage…" he replied. He held up all of his fingers. "Ten out of ten… would do again." The waitress came out and handed him a small badge.

"Congratulations!" she said cheerfully. "You've managed to finish the Comet Burger challenge! For your reward, I bestow to you the Second Officer Badge! Now that you've completed this task, please feel free to try the Gravity Burger challenge the next time you visit!"

"Gravity burger challenge?" asked Akira, his eyes wide. Morgana could only shake his head in disappointment.

"Even after that huge burger… there's another challenge aside from this? Geez, I thought it was America who had huge portions…"

"I must win…" Akira muttered to himself. He felt his stomach bugling, however, which put a pause to his plans. "Maybe after a Mementos run…"

"You can't be serious…" Akira was about to respond when his phone went off again.

"Did any of you hear what happened yesterday?" wrote Ryuji.

"No, what happened?" asked Ann.

"Apparently some bus driver rammed into a bunch of cars during rush hour.  
Can you believe that shit?"

"Akira, look!" Morgana said, gesturing to the television playing. Akira looked over and saw what the reporters managed to capture the night before. While bystanders covered up a lot of the scene, it was obvious that it was a huge accident. Most images of the bus were censored due to the graphic nature. The news anchor described the scene in a grim tone, the incident obviously affecting him.

"It's been estimated that approximately twelve people have died in the incident, and dozens more are critically wounded," the woman on the scene sighed. "The incident happened right in front of the studio where Idol Risette was being interviewed about her new album. Eye witnesses state that she was one of the first people on the scene, where she and some unnamed man were clearing debris in effort to help the victims."

"I can't believe it…" Morgana said his voice nearly inaudible.

"Mona… you don't think…" began Akira, now sitting normally.

"A psychotic breakdown?" finished Morgana. "I don't know, but it seems awfully similar to the other cases… I still don't understand how it's being done though!" lamented the cat.

"We'll figure this out together," Akira assured. "Do you think we can find clues in Mementos?"

"I doubt it… It's so big that finding anything that specifically relates to this last incident is like finding a needle in a haystack. Given that we just defeated Madarame's shadow last night… I think we should compose ourselves before we bite off more than we can chew…"

"Right…" Akira reluctantly agreed. He didn't remember the last time Morgana had doubted himself, but the cat was much more knowledgeable about the Metaverse than any of them. Akira looked back down to his phone, and noticed Yusuke had joined in the conversation. Writing out a quick response, he shut his phone off, not wanting to think of the tragedy that occurred. He grabbed his bag, allowing Morgana to jump in, and left the restaurant.

* * *

General Hospital: Room 42

* * *

Yu and Rise looked over Yosuke's bed-ridden form. He was covered in bandages, although he only had a couple casts; one around his arm and another on his leg.

"He's going to be fine," the nurse assured. "He's one of the lucky ones… A lot of the passengers… they didn't make it."

"Do you know when he'll wake up?" asked Yu. The nurse shook her head, sadly.

"Nearly all of our staff is working on the critical patients… He's stable, so until the rest are treated, we can't have anybody look at him. Oh, you'll have to excuse me, I'm needed elsewhere." The woman turned on her heels and quickly headed out the door. Rise sat next the unconscious form of Yosuke, looking at the machines that helped him breathe.

"She said he's stable…" Rise repeated. "I guess that's the best news we could have gotten, huh?"

"I'm worried about Teddie," Yu sighed to himself. Knowing Yosuke was going to be fine was one burden that he felt lifted, but not knowing a single thing of where Teddie might be unnerved him.

"We can check at the front desk again," Rise offered, although she hadn't left Yosuke's side. Yu took notice of this, and nodded.

"I'll go ask, and let you know if they find anything." Rise agreed wordlessly, her sympathetic gaze falling on Yosuke again. Yu walked out of the room, and headed back towards the elevator, when he heard some doctors discussing something as they rushed past him.

"I'm telling you, I've never seen anything like it before! The guy has no bones!"

"You've been working too many hours…" the shorted doctor said, shaking his head. "Go home, and get some rest, alright?"

"I know what I saw," he insisted. "His X-rays showed nothing! He's just a hallow sack of skin!"

"Where is he?" Yu nearly demanded.

"We're not allowed to disclose that," replied the skeptical one. "Who are you?"

"I'm his cousin," Yu lied. "I was supposed to pick him up from Tokyo, but he got lost and went on that bus! Please, where is he?" The two doctors sighed in sympathy, and shook their heads.

"He's in ICU," responded the taller doctor. "You won't be able to see him for some time."

"What was your cousin's name?" asked the second doctor. "He didn't have any forms of identification on his person."

"His name is Teddie," Yu answered, as he began to scan the area for where the ICU might be.

"Alright, I'll take a note of that… Listen, sir, I have other patients I need to tend to. I'm sorry about Teddie, but there's nothing we can do at the moment." Yu nodded, and gave the men a quick bow. As the two doctors left, Yu sighed as he began to weigh his options. Should he tell Rise, or look for Teddie? Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and made his way down the halls.

* * *

Evening: Velvet Room

* * *

"What do you want, Inmate?" asked Caroline, as she fiddled with the electric shock baton. "Make it quick!"

"Do you wish to speak to our Master?" asked Justine. Akira nodded, ignoring Caroline's brash behavior.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted, as he made a small gesture with his hand. "Do you wish to fuse a Persona?"

"No," admitted Akira, "I was wondering if the psychotic breakdowns had anything to do with the Metaverse, actually."

"Breakdowns?" asked Igor. "Those are signs of the ruin that will be brought down to the world should you fail your mission. I'm afraid I cannot help you with those."

'So they do have to do with the Metaverse,' Akira realized. 'If it's a sign that we're not successful enough… we have to work faster!'

"Is that all, Inmate?" asked Caroline, pounding her baton on the bars of his cell.

"Uh, yea," he agreed. He walked out of the Velvet room, and found himself in the back alley by Central Street. "What do you think Mona?"

"I don't know…" he sighed. "Since we're here, why don't we sell all that stuff we got from Madarame's Palace?"

"Yea, I can work here too," realized Akira. "Might as well…"

* * *

 **A/N  
**

 **I've been wanting to write a Persona fiction since forever, and finally decided to cave in. Hope you all liked it!**

 **I will be upfront now, and let you all know that the story will not follow the events of Persona 5 _exactly,_ and especially later on, when things get a bit darker. Some twists will be added, and I will do my best to keep this fresh, while keeping the Persona vibe you all came here for! Thanks, and don't forget to review!**

 **~LVR6**


	2. Two Fools

5/28 Wilton Hotel: Rise's Suite

* * *

"I can't believe it," Rise whispered sadly to herself. Although Yu was still with her, he had long since shut down. The little she tried to talk to him didn't result in much response, although she knew why. A few years ago, Yu had confided in her that one of his biggest fears was losing his friends. He told her about the time in Mitsuo's castle, that when he was trapped in the strange blocks his Shadow produced, it brought forth that insecurity he held. Rise was surprised that somebody as stoic as Yu allow himself to be vulnerable like that, but she was grateful at the time.

Now, she hated it for feeling so useless. She was just as devastated as Yu, but his coping mechanism was unhealthy. For all the maturity he displayed in high school, he still had room to grow up. Rise looked over to her friend, and he simply sat still, looking at the coffee table.

"Senpai," she called out, never having had outgrown calling him by that. "I know it must be the last thing on your mind, but you have to eat something… We spent all night in the hospital last night, and you look terrible." Yu nodded slightly, acknowledging her. "I doubt you want to be surrounded by loud executives, so let's not eat downstairs… Oh, I just remembered, Inoue told me about this quiet little place we can go to."

Rise remember asking her manager to find her a place she could unwind, and he came up with that place in Shibuya. He told her the booths were high enough that nobody would be able to see her, thus reducing the chances of her fans spotting her. She tried to put on her best smile, although it appeared very much forced, and led Yu downstairs. He still hadn't said a word and it was hard for Rise to not take it personally, but she tried. As seemingly perfect as he was, she wouldn't pester him over his few flaws.

"Senpai… I'm sure they'll pull through," she assured quietly. "The doctors said they were stable… remember?"

"Right," he replied, although his voice was hollow. Rise winced inwardly, seeing how hard it was for Yu. Did he blame himself for what happened?

* * *

Shujin Academy: After School

* * *

"Kurusu-san!" called out a blue haired teenager. He was waving around his phone, which had the Phan-site displayed. "You're not going to believe this!"

"What is it Mishima?" asked Akira tiredly. Mishima seemed to not have noticed his tone, or chose to ignore it.

"There's been a ton of requests posted up these last few days!" he whispered excitedly. "Although a lot of them aren't legitimately serious, there's been a couple I think we should look into."

"Alright, we will," agreed Akira, "but try to keep this a little more inconspicuous, alright? We don't need anybody overhearing…"

"Of course," Mishima realized. "I'm sorry, it's just I've never been a part of something like this before. I never thought I'd be helping out a group of righteous rebels."

"Just don't let it get to your head," sighed the leader of the Phantom Thieves. "Send me the requests, and I'll tell the others."

"You got it!" Mishima beamed. He looked back down to his phone and began to walk out of the classroom.

"He's a bit… too eager," Morgana sighed.

"Well, he was a victim of Kamoshida… maybe he just wants to help others that are in the positon he got out of."

"Or he's power hungry," the cat shook his head. He turned to Akira and realized how tired he seemed. "You know, why don't you take a day off? Just because you're our leader, it doesn't mean you can't take a rest."

"I don't need it," he tried to argue.

"You almost fell asleep three times before lunch." Akira gave the cat a half-hearted glare. "Look, why don't we just go to that diner in Shibuya? It's quiet and if you insist on being productive, you could study…"

"Alright, alright," he conceded. He opened his bag for the cat to jump in, and the two were off to Shibuya.

* * *

Shibuya: Diner

* * *

"You're supposed to be studying," Morgana groaned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking notes," Akira sighed, not looking up from his notebook. "It only took Kamoshida a few days for his change of heart to take place… why is it taking Madarame so long?"

"His exhibit is still going on; he won't want to publicize a trial that paints him as a con-artist. Yusuke would let us know if he would still be going through with it, wouldn't he? I mean the guy stole his mother's painting…"

"I know… I just don't know how Yusuke is dealing with it. Even after defeating Madarame's Shadow, he must still be thinking about it."

"Mishima did mention some requests on the Phan-site. Did he send them to you yet?"

"Yea, he narrowed down one about some guy that goes to Shujin," Akira informed as he read the message. "Apparently he's been harassing some students."

"That sounds good enough for me," Morgana said in an upbeat attitude. "Why don't we get the rest of the team to meet up?"

"It would be a good way to show Yusuke how Mementos works, as well as get his mind off things." Akira downed his drink and grinned, his confidence showing once more. "Let's go steal his heart!" He began to pack up his things, as he quickly wrote a message to the group chat. Hitting send, he was about to get up from his booth, when he saw a man standing near his booth. From his posture, he seemed hesitant.

"Um, sorry to bother you," said the man. His voice was gentle though his posture was nervous. "I couldn't help but overhear some meowing, and when I looked over, I saw your cat."

"Oh," Akira replied, his eyes wide. He looked over to Morgana, who had frozen, as if to pretend he wasn't real. "Uh…"

"I love cats," he blurted out. "If it isn't too much to ask for, may I pet him?"

"Pet me?" asked Morgana indignantly. "Does he think I'm some sort of domesticated animal?!"

"Sure!" Akira replied, gesturing to Morgana. The man extended his hand over to the cat, and softly began to scratch his ears. Morgana couldn't help himself, and began to lean into the man's fingers, and purr.

"Senpai!"

Akira looked over to the voice and did a double take. Was that Rise Kujikawa?

"R-Rise?" Akira stammered. The idol didn't seem to hear him, as she was apparently concerned with her friend.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to him. She turned to Akira and gave him a heartwarming smile. "I'm so sorry, he's just a cat person… I hope he didn't bother you."

"Not at all!" Akira replied, a bit too eagerly. "You're Rise, aren't you?"

"In the flesh!" she said with a forced smile. Akira thought she was acting a bit odd, which unfortunately, Rise noticed, and frowned slightly. "I'm sorry if I'm not what you expected, it's just not a good time right now."

"I didn't mean to sound disappointed," Akira added quickly, rubbing the back of his head nervously. 'Damn, I have to get my courage up…' he thought bitterly to himself. How could he let himself be star struck like this? He looked back towards Rise, only to see her frowning at her friend.

"Senpai, I think you can leave his cat alone now…"

"Sorry Rise," apologized Yu, looking up from Morgana. "He just reminds me of that cat from Inaba."

"You mean the one you fed until it went into a food coma?" Rise laughed. Yu nodded. Shaking her head with a slight smile, she looked over to Akira. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"I'm Akira Kurusu," introduced the teen.

"Thank you, Kurusu-san," said Yu. "It's just what I needed."

"Um, anytime," Akira laughed nervously. "Well, I have to get going… It was nice meeting you, Ri- er, Kujikawa-san."

"Likewise," Rise smiled. She noticed the cat immediately jump into his bag. "Senpai, do cats usually let themselves be hauled around like that?"

"No," Yu replied neutrally. "That cat is special." Rise couldn't help but laugh a bit at how confident he was in his assessment. Her phone went off for a moment, and she sighed as she pulled it out.

"Darn it," she mumbled. "I never finished that interview… The studio wants me to come back to wrap it up…"

"Go on ahead," Yu replied. "I'll see you back at your suite. I'm going to walk around, clear my head."

"Are you sure?" Yu nodded, giving her a small grin of reassurance. "Just be careful."

* * *

Shibuya Station

* * *

"What took you so long?!" Ryuji shouted as Akira weaved between the crowds of people.

"Quiet down, Ryuji!" Ann scolded. "He's only a few minutes late. It's a wonder that you showed up on time."

"I'm always on time!" he argued.

"Guys, Mishima sent me a request," Akira interrupted. "Apparently there is some bully that goes to Shujin that we need to take care of."

"Oh, I heard about that too," Ann recalled. "He cheats underclassmen out of their money or something, right?"

"Something like that, yea," nodded Akira.

"I can't stand people like that," Ryuji gritted through his teeth. "What are we waiting for? Let's go down there, kick his Shadow's ass and steal his heart!"

"Yusuke, you've been pretty quiet since you've gotten here," Ann commented. "Is everything alright?"

"Hmm," he hummed. "Just a bit… distracted," he admitted.

"Well clear it up," Morgana nearly ordered. "This is your first time in Mementos, so pay attention. This isn't like a Palace, Mementos goes on waaay deeper."

"So deep, we don't even know how many floors there are," Ryuji deadpanned. "How don't you know more about that place?"

"It doesn't matter," Akira sighed. "Let's just use the app, and get going. We still have to find the distortion before stealing anything."

The Phantom Thieves nodded in unison, as Akira brought up the Meta-verse app.

"Mementos," Akira said clearly.

* * *

A few minutes earlier

* * *

Yu bid farewell to Rise as she called Inoue to pick her up, and quickly made his way to the train station. He did his best to look inconspicuous, as he tried to track down the teenager he saw in the diner.

While he and Rise were sitting idly drinking coffee, Yu first heard the meowing. He didn't mind cats at all, and in fact, liked their company; however, with his best friends in the hospital for the foreseeable future, he wasn't up to investigate.

That was when he heard the teen mutter something about Shadows, some place called Mementos, and stealing hearts. While he wasn't sure what the second thing was, he nearly froze at the mention of Shadows. He wanted to dismiss it a coincidence, but his body reacted before his mind came to a conclusion.

That little incident is what brought him to Shibuya station, watching the teen and his cat meet up with three other students. It brought back bittersweet memories of the Investigation Team meeting at the food court in Junes. He hoped his thoughts of the group were wrong, but when the blond one spoke up, whom reminded him very much of Kanji, he nearly shouted that they were going to rob somebody of their heart.

That was the last straw, and Yu, once again, found himself walking towards them to confront them. He didn't see a television anywhere, so he didn't rush in, but as he approached, he felt disorientated as the world around him began to shift. He grabbed on to a magazine rack to keep himself steady, and his gaze never broke from the Thieves. Once the world stopped shifting, the teens ran down the stairs, irritating Yu further. He was about to call out for them to stop, but as his hand reached forward, he noticed it was wrapped in white bandages.

"What is this?" he asked himself. His eyes trailed down to the rest of his body, and he felt further confused. When did his clothes change? He wandered over to the ticket booth to use the glass's reflection to get a better look at himself. "Whoa…"

Yu stared closer at his new attire. He wore a long coat with several belts at the collar and bottom. There were zippers all over his torso, and he wore a black version of a mask he would recognize anywhere.

"Izanagi," he whispered. A blue card began to descend from above, the front completely white.

" **I am Thou, and Thou art I."** The voice was familiar, and brought a strange comfort to Yu. **"Thou has reawakened the bonds of thy heart. Thy bonds shall never be severed."**

Yu reached up to the card, and thought of his longest companion, and crushed the card wordlessly. From behind him, the familiar Persona emerged, appearing nearly identical to Yu's current attire, mask included.

"It's been a while, Izanagi," Yu said to the Persona floating behind him. Izanagi nodded slightly, and brandished his naginata. "Let's warm up before we rush in."

* * *

Interview

* * *

"We're here again with our guest from last night, Rise Kujikawa! Our viewers have all been wondering why you disappeared yesterday? We had just begun to get into the new album you've put out."

"I'm sorry about that," Rise sighed, not caring that she wasn't 'on' at the moment. "Something personal came up."

"Is that so?" asked the interviewer. Rise was taken aback at the sudden change in attitude from yesterday. "We have several eye witnesses and cell phone videos putting you at the scene of the accident that occurred up the street."

"Wh-what?" Rise exclaimed. As if on cue, the scene behind her began to play images of her kneeling next to Yu, closing her hands over his.

"Is this young man the person you wrote about in your songs?" the interviewer continued to pester. "Was somebody you knew involved in the accident?"

"That's none of your business!" she snapped back at her. "You said you wanted to talk about the album, not… this!" she gestured to the video.

"A lot of people believe that this was a publicity stunt to boost your comeback tour even further," the interviewer explained. "Is there any merit to that theory?"

"I'm not using that as a publicity stunt!" Rise denied. "I didn't know who was involved at the time, just that a friend of mine ran in to help! By the time I got there the ambulance and paramedics had already gotten everything under control."

"Then why didn't you return to the interview?"

"BECAUSE TWO OF MY FRIENDS WERE HURT!" she shouted, standing to her feet. Her eyes were puffy, threatening to spill tears at any moment. Rise hastily began to rip off the microphone she wore and stormed off the set. The interviewer chuckled nervously as she attempted to lighten the mood.

"Well, um, you heard it here first!" she grinned awkwardly.

Rise wiped her eyes as she tried to reel in her emotions. It didn't take long for her manger to rush over to her side.

"Rise, are you alright?" asked Inoue.

"I'm fine," she sniffed. "I just can't believe how disgusting people can be to get better ratings."

"I shouldn't have asked you to come back here," he sighed. "I'll talk to the producers and see if I can get them to keep this off the air…"

"Thank you, Inoue," she sighed. "I'm going back to my room… I don't really think I'll be up for any more public appearances for a while." Inoue seemed to wince at that. "Inoue… what aren't you telling me?"

"The station had let people know on their website that you'd be returning to finish the interview, so there are quite a few of your fans waiting in the lobby."

"You think you can get them to leave, or are we waiting this out again?" Inoue sighed, and Rise knew it was the second option. "Alright, let me let Senpai know that I'm going to be late…"

* * *

Mementos: Aiyatsybus Floor 2

* * *

"What do you think, Yusuke?" asked Ann, as the Phantom Thieves got back inside Morgana's bus form.

"It's not as challenging as I thought it would be," admitted Yusuke. "I'm actually relieved. I don't think I could handle another fight like Maradame-sensei's Shadow so soon."

"That's because he was a Palace boss," Morgana explained. "Those are usually really tough, which is why they have a Palace to begin with. People down here in Mementos don't have their desires twisted enough to warrant a Palace. Naturally, they're going to be a lot weaker."

"I see," Yusuke nodded in understanding.

"Yea, we're lucky that there was only one heart to steal this time around," pointed out Ann. "If our popularity grows, we might have to do several request the next time we come down here."

"Let's hope not," Akira shivered. While the actual Shadows of people they fought weren't necessarily tough, the subway gave him a bad feeling. It reminded him of the ruin he was supposed to prevent.

"Hey Mona," began Ryuji. "Are there any other kinds of shadows down here?"

"What do you mean, Skull?" asked the Bus-cat.

"I mean before we confront any of them, they all look the same," clarified Ryuji.

"I think he means the masked shadows look alike," Ann realized. "Before Joker yanks the mask off, they do kind of resemble each other."

"Well, no, there is one shadow that's special. I've never seen it, but I heard it's a cloaked figure that is mostly black. I don't think we'll run into it though."

"What makes it special?" asked Yusuke.

"It's called the Reaper," Morgana explained, shuttering a little. "He's only supposed to show up if we spend too much time around in one area. I don't know why it works like that, but it does."

"How long is too long?" Ann asked.

"I'm not sure," admitted the cat, beginning to feel uneasy. "Enough about him, we're way too weak to put a scratch on him."

"The Reaper is _that_ strong?" Ryuji asked in shock.

"Why did you want to know, Skull?" asked Ann.

"I thought I saw one roaming around the tunnels," he admitted. "It was before we found the distortion."

"Why didn't you bring it up!?" Morgana nearly shouted. "If that was the Reaper, we would have been done for if we didn't enter the distortion."

"How was I supposed to know that the thing was the bringer of death?" Ryuji shouted back. "Isn't a Reaper supposed to have a scythe? The one I saw had a staff with a blade on it."

"What? No, the Reaper has a pair of guns…" Morgana began to explain, before it dawned on him what Ryuji was saying. "The shadow had a naginata?"

"Yea, that," Ryuji nodded. "Is that not the Reaper?"

"Obviously not," Ann scoffed. "You can be pretty thick headed sometimes, Skull."

"What does that mean?" asked Akira. "Is there a Shadow just wandering around down here?"

"That shouldn't be possible," Morgana sighed, trying to stay calm. "I think we should head back to the entrance. We can explore Mementos another day."

"Are you sure?" asked Akira, although he was beginning to agree with the cat. If Ryuji wasn't lying, they might be in trouble if that Shadow finds them. Turning the bus around, Akira started making his way back to the entrance.

"I've been working on the railroad!" Ryuji began to sing.

"Really, Skull?" asked Morgana, rolling his eyes.

"What? It's too quiet," he replied.

"But did you have to pick that song?" asked Ann.

"What other song is more fitting than that one?" he countered.

"Is it always like this?" Yusuke asked Akira. The leader simply nodded, tuning out Panther's and Skull's bickering.

"So what do you think about Mementos?" asked Morgana. Yusuke hummed to himself for a second in thought.

"It's much darker than I had thought," he replied. "Although it does seem worthy of a painting…"

"Seriously?" deadpanned the cat. "That's what's on your mind right now?"

"I can't help it," he grinned. "I'm an artist. I try to see the beauty in everything."

"That's, er, nice," Akira replied hesitantly. He noticed that his two classmates had stopped arguing. "Well, we're almost back to the entrance…" he began, but soon felt his heart sink. In front of the Velvet Room was a figure clad in all black with his back turned to them. It almost seemed like he was waiting for them. When he turned, Akira noticed he wore a black mask, and was devoid of all emotions.

* * *

Yu cursed silently to himself, as his Contractor's Key didn't work on the blue door. He recognized the Velvet Room's entrance anywhere, yet for one reason or another, he wasn't allowed back in. It saddened him slightly, as he was looking forward to seeing the eccentric long nosed Igor and his lovely assistant Margaret. Unfortunately, he was trapped outside, and he lightly headbutted the cell door in annoyance. Once he accepted he wouldn't be able to utilize the Velvet Room's services, he turned to the sound of tires coming to a stop. Curiously, he watched as somebody exited the driver's seat.

"Who are you?" asked a teen with messy black hair. He wore bright red gloves, and a long black trench coat with an opera mask. Yu immediately recognized him from the diner, however, the rest that got off the bus he was unfamiliar with. There was a tall teen with a fox mask, a blond teen with a skull, and the final was a girl with some sort of cat mask. To his surprise, the bus poofed into a cartoonish cloud of smoke, and was replaced by a top-heavy cat.

"Did that bus turn into a cat?" he asked himself, although the Phantom Thieves heard him.

"Don't avoid the question!" the blond one shouted. It was the cat that stepped forward that caught him off guard once more.

"Guys, I don't think we should pick a fight with him," he warned the teens.

"Did that cat just talk?" Yu asked, scratching his cheek in confusion. Before the others could respond to his question, Yu remembered why he followed the teen. He pointed to Akira, and hardened his gaze. "You."

"You know this guy, Joker?" asked Ryuji.

"N-no," he replied. He tried to return the glare, but he couldn't manage to match the intensity.

"I've come to stop you, and your friends," Yu said firmly. "You will stop stealing hearts, or I'll be forced to make you."

"To hell with that!" Ryuji shouted at Yu. He began to stretch out his shoulder, giving his mace a few test swings.

"Yea!" Ann agreed. She followed suit, and took out her whip, lashing the ground in front of her.

"It seems we'll have one more battle before we finish for today," mused Yusuke, placing his hand on his sword. While not as flashy as his two teammates, he was ready to strike at a moments notice.

"You don't scare us," Akira added, stepping forward. He drew his knife in reverse grip, and stared down Yu. Yu simply shook his head. He didn't want to fight them, but there weren't giving him much choice. He didn't have a melee weapon, and it seemed that the teens also had guns with them. He'd have to be careful. "Arsene! Eiha"

"Captain Kidd, Zio!" added Ryuji. Yu tensed up as he didn't recognize the first attack, and raised his arms to defend himself. He watched as a red and black streaks of light surrounded him, but nothing happened. The lightning attack rained down on him, but it did next to nothing.

'It seems that Eiha is a darkness based spell,' Yu thought, as he looked over to the other three opponents. To his surprise, the cat summoned a persona. 'Well, Mitsuru did say they had a dog who used a Persona...'

"Zorra, use Garu!"

"Carmen, Agi!"

Yu didn't have much time to think, but immediately shifted Personas. He mentally called out to Makami, knowing the resistances by heart. The wind attack that would have hurt him was resisted, and the fire did nothing.

"Goemon, Giant Slice!" called out Yusuke. Yu couldn't help but grin, as he shifted to Ara Mitami. The slash did little for him to feel any damage, and he looked up to see the Thieves look in shock.

"I'll ask you once more," Yu offered, not wanting to fight them. "Stop stealing hearts and using your Personas for selfish reasons."

"Selfish reasons?" scoffed Ann. "You don't know anything!"

"You're full of shit!" Ryuji accused, running at him with his mace. "Just shut up and get out of our way!"

Yu saw the reckless attack coming from a mile away, ducked under the swing, and twisted his hips to deliver a devastating kick to Skull's back. He let out a grunt in pain, and fell to the ground. It seems those training sessions with Chie were finally paying off. Yu grabbed Skull's jacket, and threw him back to his teammates. Akira glared daggers at him, and was trembling in anger.

"Carmen, Dormina!" Yu didn't bother with allowing the attacks to connect anymore, and ran straight at Ann. Yu grabbed her by the mask, preventing her from summoning her Persona, and with the momentum he built up, slammed her head into the ground. She didn't make a sound as she faded in unconsciousness.

"Panther!" shouted Morgana, running at Yu. "Zorro, Lucky punch!" Yu watched the large Persona manifest, but didn't expect the cat to also swing at him with what seemed to be a saber of some sort. Yu backpedaled a few steps, before finally revealing his powers.

"Izanagi!" Yu shouted. Zorro's attack was blocked by Yu's Persona, as it glared at the attacker. Morgana's eyes went wide.

"T-that Persona," Morgana gasped. The Persona wielded a weapon that Ryuji described. How long has this guy been following them?

"Ziodyne," Yu said calmly. Morgana looked up and watched the dark tunnel turn white moments before his world went black. The deafening sound of lightning crashing filled the subway.

"Mona!" Akira called out. He stared in disbelief, his entire team was taken down in mere moments. He looked over to Yusuke, who was gripping his sword.

"What do we do Joker?" asked Yusuke, his voice wavering. Akira opened his mouth to reply, but Yu was already on the offensive.

"Cross-Slash!" he shouted, as he ran at Yusuke. Izanagi lifted his weapon, and in an instance, struck twice. Yusuke fell forward, unconscious. Yu walked over to him and began to inspect his sword. "Hm… kind of weak, but I can use this." Yu's stoic gaze turned back to Akira, who was frozen in place.

"What are you?" he asked Yu. The disguised Fool walked towards the current Wild Card.

"I didn't want to hurt any of you," Yu sighed in disappointment. "But you all forced my hand."

"Dream Needle!" Akira shouted, trying to put his opponent to sleep. To his horror, Yu lazily evaded and continued his path.

"I don't know how you've managed to gain this many Persona Users to follow you…" he said barely above a whisper. While he believed that this group of Thieves was criminals, he decided to show mercy. "This will be your first and last warning. If I catch wind of your group stealing anymore hearts, I'll find you all, and put an end to it."

"We'll never stop," Akira growled in defiance. "It's you adults who have screwed up our society, and abused your powers!"

"What?" asked Yu, baffled.

"If you want to protect those bastards, we'll fight you every step of the way! Whether it's Kamoshida, Madarame, or anybody who hurts others!" Akira could feel power welling up within him, and suddenly there was a gentle breeze. His coat began to whip around him, and his hair rose a little. Yu looked at him impassively, recognizing what was happening.  
"Jack Frost! Bufu!"

Yu once again side stepped, as the small ice spell flew past him.

"Slime, Headbutt! Eligor, Double Fangs! Arsene, Sakunda!" Yu was mildy surprised at how quickly Joker summoned and used his Personas, but didn't allow it to distract him from the attacks. Aside from Arsene, Yu recalled the other three Akira had summoned, and from that, could begin to calculate how strong he was. Eligor was his strongest, from what he could tell, but it was still very underwhelming in raw power. Yu gripped Yusuke's katana with both hands and cleaved Arsene in two. Akira visibly winced, before he fell to his knees. He had expended too many physical moves without healing. Normally, that would be Ann's or Morgana's job.

"Why do you do it?" asked Yu, looking down to Akira's kneeling form.

"To help… those… who can't help themselves, Akira panted.

"Namatame…" Yu whispered. The delivery man from Inaba who had the same power as he at the time, but used it to put people in the T.V. He thought he was saving people, but after finding the truth, Yu realized that he was being manipulated by the true culprit all along. What if this was the case now? The only question was who was on the right side? "Explain yourself."

* * *

Rise heard the door to her suite open, and immediately rushed over to see Yu. She threw her arms around him, before she started to hit him on the chest.

"You asshole!" she cried. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! You could have at least called or texted me! Where were you?"

"It's a long story," Yu sighed, not having the energy to explain at the moment. "Can I tell you in the morning?"

"You made me wait for six hours, _SIX HOURS!_ " she emphasized. Yu looked over to the clock on the wall. It was almost five in the morning.

"Why were you out so late?" he asked. "Shouldn't the interview have ended at seven?"

"Don't change the subject," she pouted. As her initial worry began to fade into relief, she sighed. "I'll tell you after you've told me."

"Alright," agreed Yu, "first thing in the morning, then." Rise looked in disbelief as Yu walked over to her bed room and fell face first into the bed, snoring before he landed.

"Senpai..." she groaned. "You're the worst..."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Finally, the second chapter is up. While this went through quite the number of revisions, I'm satisfied with what I came up with.**

 **While nobody has asked, I want to make clear that Yu has twenty-four Personas; one from each social link/ Arcana. If you've watched the Persona 4 anime, you'll know which ones they are. I am doing this because while technically Yu does have the Wild Card ability, Akira is the Fool on his journey. Yu's journey is done, and just happened to overlap with the next in line. In this story, Yu has completed the Golden ending, gone through the P-1 Grand Prix, and the Midnight Stage. I wanted to include Persona Q, but wasn't exactly sure how to incorporate that, so no sure, it happened, but just don't expect any references to it.**

* * *

 **Omake**

* * *

Yu saw the Velvet room door off to the side of the subway entrance, and immediately rushed over to it. He reached into his pocket, which still had items from his adventure from many years ago, and rummaged around until he took out a key. He was about to try to open the door, when a voice shouted at him.

"Who are you?" demanded a short blonde girl in a Velvet room attendant uniform. Yu cocked his head to the side as he took in her appearance. He felt it would be rude to ask about the eye-patch.

"Yu... Is Margaret in?" he asked.

"Margaret?" she repeated. The Velvet door opened, and out came another young blonde. She also wore an eye-patch.

"What's going on, Caroline? Master wanted us to switch places a while ago."

"This intruder tried to enter the Velvet room, Justine," she accused, pointing her baton to Yu.

"I'm just looking for Margaret," he repeated. He raised his hand to about his height. "She about this tall, pretty gold eyes, platinum blonde hair? Has a thing for electronica, if I remember."

"Margaret likes electronica?" asked Justine. "Wait, you're him, aren't you?"

" _Him?_ " asked Caroline. She eyed him suspiciously. "Prove it."

"Prove what?" asked Yu. He jumped back as a giant fireball erupted in front of him.

"Prove your worth, Fool," Caroline replied annoyed. Justine sighed, and stood next to her sister.

"I guess we're doing this," she mumbled. "We will not hold back."

"Than neither will I," Yu grinned. "Izanagi-no-Okami! Myriad Truths!"

Each twin's single eye widened as the World Arcana Persona appeared and unleashed its devastating attack. Yu watched in satisfaction as the two fell.

"Hm..." he hummed to himself. He walked over to the door again, and opened it. As he walked in, he said in a sing-song voice, "Igooor, I'm home!"


	3. IT Reunites (Almost)

**Chapter 3: I.T. Reunites... Well, most of them.**

* * *

5/29 Wilton Hotel: Rise's Suite: Morning

* * *

"It wasn't until _that_ , did the leader finally let me talk to him," Yu sighed. "After hearing his explanation I tried to leave, but I had no idea _how_ to, so I just hid behind a magazine rack again so I could exit when they did."

Rise sat in front of him with a completely baffled expression. Yu had made sure that he didn't leave anything out, and to explain everything as thoroughly as he could. To his dismay, it seemed it was still too much for Rise to grasp.

"You beat up a bunch of teenagers?" she finally asked in a deadpan tone.

"They started it," he replied neutrally.

"Senpai!"

"I thought I made that clear. I was standing by the entrance and I got attacked with Zio and Dark skills." Rise took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Whatever, we don't have time to think about them right now," she sighed. "The others are coming tonight, and I don't think any of them want to think of another Midnight Channel incident."

"They called it the Metaverse."

"Not the point! I'm saying is that they're worried about Yosuke and Teddie, and I am too! If those kids aren't abusing their Persona powers, then let them wander around the Meta-whatever. It's not our issue anymore, Senpai, we've done this so many times…"

"They weren't very strong…" Yu pointed out.

"Senpai… you want to help them?" asked Rise. "After everything we've gone through, you still want to risk your life?"

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "They're explanation sounded really convoluted… I mean why would they hide their identities if they didn't believe what they are doing is right?"

"What exactly did you two talk about?" Yu looked over to her and thought about it.

"He said that they 'steal desires' to force people to have a change of heart," Yu recalled. "He said that he and two of his teammates were being harassed by their gym teacher or something like that. Have you heard of Kamoshido?"

"Kamoshido?" Rise repeated. "Yea, I remember reading a news article stating he was sexually abusing his students. Real creep, if you ask me."

"The 'Phantom Thieves' as they're calling themselves, claimed they made him confess his crimes by stealing his heart," Yu finished. "Apparently they're doing the same to some artist who's having a show around here."

"All the newspapers I read said the principal was who found out and fired him on the spot, none of them said he confessed. I don't know much about art, so I can't really name any around here off the top of my head," admitted Rise, taking her phone out. She began to search for art shows around the area. "Hmm, it looks like there's somebody named Ichiryusai Madarame who's been showcasing his different paintings around here. I don't see anybody else having an art gala in Tokyo."

"Madarame," Yu nodded. "That's the guy. Joker said they stole his heart and he was going to confess his crimes of plagiarizing his students' works or something. Apparently one of the Phantoms Thieves is a student of his."

"Are you sure?" asked Rise. "From what I can find online, those are only rumors, and nobody has been able to prove anything. You also said they were all wearing masks, how can you be sure they weren't lying to you?"

"Well, if he does confess, it means they're telling the truth…" Yu shrugged, "but if not, they're stealing for personal gain. If that's the case, I'll have to put a stop to them."

"Look, maybe we should put this on the back burner," Rise said uneasily. "I'm booked for the next couple of days to attend autograph signings and guest appearances. I'd rather spend what little free time I get to visit Yosuke and Teddie. We're not in high school anymore, and you know how hectic my life can be with my career."

"R-right," Yu nodded, thinking back to the two. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he knew he was running away from facing that reality by chasing after potential criminals.

* * *

Shujin High Rooftop: Lunch

* * *

Four of the five Phantom Thieves sat around on of the empty desks, although they didn't have much to say. Akira had been silent throughout the day, which only concerned Ryuji and Ann. Ryuji, having the least patience, slammed his hands in front of Akira.

"Damn it, man, tell us what happened," he nearly demanded. "That guy, he wiped the floor with us, and there wasn't a damn thing we could do to stop him! How'd you get us out of there?"

Akira shook his head slightly.

"Ryuji's right," Ann agreed. "We were in way over our heads, but you managed to save us… don't you think we deserve to know how? Did you use a smokescreen or something?"

"Nah, it wouldn't last long enough for him to haul all of us out," Ryuji brushed off. "You must've beaten him, right? Froze him? Paralyzed?"

"He let us go," Akira finally whispered, rubbing his arm nervously. "He wiped us all out, and just let us go…"

"Why would he do that?" asked Morgana.

"He didn't say," Akira replied. "He just kept asking questions, and demanding answers."

"He didn't ask who we were, did he?" asked Ann.

"He already knew who I was," Akira replied, unnerved.

"Do you think he's keeping tabs on us?" asked Ryuji in a whisper.

"This is insane," Ann said shocked. "Who is this guy?"

"Guys…" began Morgana. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I think he might be the other Persona user Madarame's Shadow was talking about. I mean, he has a black mask, and he's way stronger than anything we've faced before."

"You think he's the one causing the breakdowns?" Ryuji asked.

"It's possible," Morgana shuddered. "If he is… there's no telling what other powers he has."

"The scariest thing was how much he already knew about our powers," Ann admitted. "I mean he countered _everything_ we did! He was immune to Akira's curse, and my fire, and didn't flinch from Morgana's wind, Yusuke's physical or Ryuji's lightning…"

"That leaves Psychokinesis, Nuclear, Ice, Bless and Gun skills…"

"Do you really think any of those would work?" asked Ryuji. "The dude tanked all of our hits and took us all out without trying."

"We should avoid running into him," Akira concluded. "We don't know what he's after, and we're not nearly strong enough to try to face him."

"But if we can't train in Mementos, how are we going to get stronger?" Ryuji nearly shouted. "Ugh, this is so frustrating!"

"Calm down Ryuji, this affects all of us," Ann chided. "Besides, imagine what Yusuke must be thinking… it was his first time in Mementos and we all nearly died."

"We have to find out who that guy was," Morgana decided. The rest of the thieves made sounds of approval. The cat paced back and forth. "I have an idea of how we can try to beat him, but it goes against everything we've done…"

"Whadda ya talkin' about, Morgana?" Ryuji asked uncharacteristically serious. "You thinkin' we should off 'im?"

"What? No!" the cat scoffed. "I mean, we should try to beat him outside of the Metaverse."

"You mean in the real world?" asked Ann. "You want us to fight him out here? Without our powers?"

"He won't have any either," Akira realized. There was a sudden silence that fell over the group. "Even if he is an adult, we outnumber him four to one. No offense Morgana…"

"None taken," the cat brushed off. "We just need to come up with a way we can figure out who he is. He came out of nowhere, and left before all of us woke up. He's elusive, that's for sure…"

"What are you all doing up here?" asked a feminine voice. The four teens turned their heads to the student council president. "There's a sign that clearly states that the roof is off limits. You can't be up here."

"We ain't hurting anyone," Ryuji began to argue. "It's not like we're smokin' and shit either. We're just tryin' to get some fresh air."

"You can do that in the out in the field," Makoto replied sternly. She gazed over to Akira, then to Ann. "It's suspicious that you would associate yourself with two known troublemakers, Takamaki-san. I wouldn't hang around them if I were you."

"Hey, what's that s'pposed to mean?" Ryuji growled, as Ann stood forward.

"They're my friends," Ann bit back. "Who are you to judge somebody without getting to know them, huh? Just because your president you think you're perfect?" Makoto was about to retort, but someone beat her to it.

"It's alright," Akira began. "I've been called worse."

"That's not the point!" Ann began, but Akira cut her off.

"We'll head down immediately, Niijima-san, once we've collected our things."

* * *

Shibuya Station: After School

* * *

Yu leaned against one of the many concrete pillars in the station as he sipped on a fruit drink he bought. Rise had told him that the rest of their friends were arriving, so he opted to wait for them at the station, than have them wander around lost like Yosuke and Teddie did. He occasionally looked over to where that massive dungeon's entrance was, but it was completely normal now. It annoyed him how little he knew about that other world. For his group it was easy; find a T.V., then jump in. Apparently for Mitsuru's group, they had to wait until midnight before entering the Dark Hour, something more passive than he'd like. Perhaps that was the situation with the Phantom Thieves, and they had to wait for certain days for the dungeon to form.

'It still doesn't make any sense,' he thought bitterly. How can the real world warp around people who are still walking around like normal? The Dark Hour made everybody who didn't have the 'potential' transform into coffins (something he found a bit eerie, and was thankful he didn't have to witness), and his group had to ensure that nobody was around when they dived in to the Midnight Channel.

Yu finished his drink, and walked over to a trash container to toss it, when he saw the familiar head of black shaggy hair. He watched from a distance as he walked from one terminal to another. Was he going back in so soon? If so, where were his friends? Yu began to trail him from a distance, until he began to board on another train.

'Should I follow him?' he wondered, looking back to where he suspected his friends would arrive. He thought about it for a moment, and figured he had nothing to gain from finding out where Akira lived, and began to walk back to the pillar he was leaning on earlier. He took out his phone to send a message to the gang when he noticed the new app on his phone. All instincts told him to delete the app, but curiosity began to get the better of him. With a simple tap, he opened the app, and the world around him began to distort.

"Shit," he cursed, as he tumbled down to the ground, as he didn't manage to grab on to anything this time. He dusted himself off, and looked over to the subway entrance. "There it is," he muttered to himself. Yu knew he should return right away, but he wanted to see why the Velvet room wasn't working for him anymore. He walked down the stairs, and turned to where the blue door was, only to find it missing.

"It should be right here," he said to himself, as he moved his hands to feel if it was there or not. To his disappointment, there was no trace of it.

"What are you doing?!" shouted a young girl from behind him. Yu turned around and saw a young girl in the Velvet Room Attendant uniform. It definitely differed from Margaret and Elizabeth's, but was recognizable nevertheless. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry," Yu apologized politely, "I was just trying to get into the Velvet Room to talk to Igor. I'm Yu Narukami."

"What business do you have with my Master?" she asked dangerously. Yu raised his hand to scratch his cheek, only for her to shout at him. "Don't you dare!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

"You were about to try to use a Persona against me, weren't you!?" she accused. "I don't need Justine to take on you!"

"I don't want to fight!" To Yu's dismay, the eye-patch wearing girl lunged at him with her cattle prod. He leaped backwards, narrowly evading the attack. "I just need answers!"

"You dare demand anything from me?" she seethed, as she continued to swing at him. "Stop moving around!"

"I don't have time for this!" Yu said annoyed. He mentally called out to Izanagi, and caught the electric baton with his bare hand. Her lone eye widened in surprise. Yu easily tore the weapon from the girl's grip and tossed it aside. "Will you just listen!?"

"H-how'd you do that?" she asked in a whisper, taking a step back. Yu rolled his eyes and began to walk towards her.

"Look, if I can't enter the Velvet Room, can you just ask him for me?"

"…very well," she agreed after a pause. While she wouldn't admit it, being disarmed so quickly had startled her, especially when she sensed the huge spike in power the man possessed. It was unnatural. "What is it?"

"Thank you," Yu sighed in relief. "It's just a few questions, it'd be easier if you wrote them down."

"Justine is the one with the clipboard…" she mumbled. "I'll go get her." Yu walked over to the discarded cattle prod and handed it back to the girl.

"Sorry about taking that," he apologized sheepishly. Caroline scoffed, and disappeared. Yu was a bit confused, but a moment later another girl arrived, wearing an identical outfit the only difference being the eye patch covering the other eye. She also wore her hair in a different style, but none of that concerned Yu at the moment.

"My sister Caroline informed me of what has happened," Justine began, in a much calmer voice than her twin's. "I apologize for her brash behavior. What would you like to ask our Master?"

* * *

Café Leblanc: Evening.

* * *

"There's something I don't understand about this plan," Akira sighed to the cat. He was lying on his bed, looking up to the ceiling, deep in thought.

"What do you mean?" Morgana asked. "Which part?"

"Any of it," he admitted. "I mean, let's say we do find him in the real world… what are we going to do? Fight him? Capture him? It doesn't make any sense, if we can't change his heart."

"Honestly, I haven't got any idea," the cat sighed. "I only suggested that because Ryuji and Lady Ann were getting antsy. There's nothing we can do in the physical world that would make any difference. I thought if we came up with something that sounded like a plan, they wouldn't worry so much."

"Should we cancel the ambush then?" laughed the teen.

"Well, it's giving those two something to think about." The cat stared at Akira with a thoughtful expression. "Say, what exactly happened between you and the other Persona user?"

"I couldn't hit him," Akira began, rolling to his side to face the feline. "Everything I did, he dodged it, or it had no effect. Everything you guys did didn't so much as leave a scratch on him, and after he took out Yusuke… he just walked over to him and asked me to stop."

"Did you agree?" Morgana asked, although he wouldn't blame Akira if he did in that moment.

"No," Akira said with a sigh. "At that moment, I thought it was over, but he just lowered the sword and asked me to explain myself. I explained as much as I could, without giving ourselves away… and he seemed to believe me. He almost looked apologetic, to be honest. Once he got our side of the story, he cast Samarecarm four times, then left."

"He must be a magic user then…" Morgana mumbled under his breath. "That's a really advanced spell."

"He knocked out Ann and Ryuji without a Persona," Akira pointed out. "He only used magic on you, aside from reviving you all."

"He used a Dyne-level Zio spell," Morgana defended. "That's the highest level I know of, _and_ it's my weakness!"

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," Akira quickly added. "I'm just saying, he's really well-rounded."

"We're getting off topic. Do you think he'll stop us if we keep stealing hearts? I mean he knows we're not the bad guys, right?"

"He said he'll check the news for Madarame's change of heart," he replied. "If he doesn't have one, he'll come after us."

"Oh…" Morgana whispered. The deadline seemed to be even more important now. "Let's cross out fingers…"

* * *

Tokyo: Underground Mall

* * *

"Just a few more, Rise," Inoue cheered on. Rise gave him a nod, and posed for the picture.

"Can we do one with funny faces?" asked a child.

"Those are my favorite!" Rise replied excitedly. She puffed her cheeks out and crossed her eyes, earning a giggle from the boy. The two posed, and Inoue snapped the photo.

"Thanks Rise! You're the best!" the kid said, his smile stretching from ear to ear. With him gone, Rise's meet-and-greet was finally over.

"I didn't think I had fans that young still," she sighed wistfully. She was exhausted, although she knew she couldn't show it in front of the crowds. "What time is it Inoue?"

"It's quarter until midnight," he sighed, just as tired. "Would you like me to call you a cab home?"

"No, that's alright," she denied. "I can walk from here. I think I just need a little time to myself right now."

"Of course, but do be careful."

"I can handle myself, Inoue, I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know," he smiled apologetically. "I'll be on my way then. If there's any changes to your schedule, I'll email you."

"Thank you," she smiled back. Rise stretched her arms out above her head, letting out a satisfied sigh. She grabbed he sweater as she walked out of the music store. While it wasn't large by any standard, being located near the subway meant it attracted a lot of business. She thought back to what Yu had told her that morning, and felt she was being a bit selfish. While it was true that she was concerned with Yosuke and Teddie, she was tired of fighting Shadows. While she spent the first year as the team's navigator, and the Midnight Stage was a strange world where only dance could achieve victory, she was finally forced to learn to fight when the P-1 Grand Prix began.

It was then, that she realized how hard the others had pushed themselves. To do it all again… she couldn't bring herself to fight anymore. She had seen the gleam in Yu's eye when he talked about the Metaverse, and it pained her to shoot his idea down. Surely, Yosuke, Chie or Kanji would have jumped at the opportunity to fight… but she couldn't. She had even come up with the lame excuse that she was busy with her Idol work, which, while true, was secondary if her friends were in need of her. She decided to do a little bit of independent research, and took out her phone. She entered Phantom Thieves in the search bar, and a website came up.

"Phantom Thieves Aficionado?" she read to herself. She clicked it, and a red and black website popped up, with a poll on the homepage. "Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves?"

Shaking her head, she ignored the poll. What did it matter, whether or not the public believed in them? The Investigation Team, nor SEES were in it for fame, nor did they have a fan-site, or in this case, a _phan-_ site. She looked down to the requests, and was a bit put off. People were asking the Thieves to change the hearts of their schoolmates, neighbors, friends, even parents. The list went on and on. Before she ventured further into the site, she realized she had a few missed calls, as well as a handful of messages.

"Senpai…" she groaned under her breath. "You had _one_ job…"

* * *

Investigation Team: Earlier that day

* * *

"So this is Tokyo, huh?" asked Kanji, idly fiddling with a small puppy keychain he'd sewn.

"Yea, I guess so," Chie replied, looking up at the buildings. "I didn't think it'd be so…"

"Crowded?" finished Yukiko.

"It has it's pros and cons," Naoto sighed. She looked up to the signage to see where they were. "This is the station we're supposed to meet up with Yu-kun, right?"

"Yea, I think so," Kanji nodded. "Where's he at?"

"Let me call him," Chie replied, shaking her head. "It isn't like him to be forgetful."

The three hummed in agreement, as they wandered to an area that wasn't as busy.

"He's not answering?" asked Kanji.

"No, it went straight to voicemail." Chie sighed, and looked over to Naoto. "You got any ideas?"

"Aside from calling Rise?" Naoto asked.

"She's not picking up either," Yukiko informed. "She might be busy with one of her interviews or something."

"That's why Yu was supposed to be here," Chie groaned. "How are we going to see Yosuke and Teddie today?"

"I think a more pressing concern is finding appropriate accommodations for the night," Naoto sighed. "I'll look to see if there are any motels in the area."

"Why don't Kanji-kun and I look around for Yu?" asked Yukiko. "Maybe he's waiting at a different station."

"Good thinking," nodded Chie. She tried to force a smile on her face, but it faltered. "I hope everybody is alright…"

"We'll find out first thing tomorrow morning," Naoto assured. The group agreed, albeit solemnly.

* * *

With Yu

* * *

"Our Master told us that you are no longer welcomed to enter the Velvet Room," Justine informed regrettably. "While you have done a commendable job during your own journey, he wishes for you to step aside and allow the Wild Card of this generation to grow on his own. Should you interfere any further, it may prove detrimental to the rehabilitation of our Inmate."

"Inmate?" asked Yu. "You mean Joker _is_ a criminal?"

"Officially, yes," she responded without hesitation. "However, the reason for this was due to his insistent nature to do good. He couldn't allow what unfolded in front of him to happen, so he is now paying that price. It's a rather… unfortunate circumstance."

'That must be what he meant,' Yu thought to himself. He recalled when Joker had accused him of being an adult who abuses his powers, and it suddenly began to make sense. He was a victim, just like those who were abused by Kamoshido.

"What are you thinking, Wild Card?" asked the Velvet Room assistant.

"It's nothing," he assured. "If Igor really wants me to step back, I'll take it into consideration. I have other things I should be taking care of anyway…"

"Very well," she said with a nod. "I will inform my Master. Take care of yourself."

Yu nodded, and headed back to the entrance of Mementos. While he did want to learn more about this world, Igor asked him to step back. While strange, Yu had no reason to mistrust the long-nose man. Sighing disappointedly, he pressed the app on his phone again. Bracing himself, he managed to stay on his feet as he returned to the real world. He noticed how empty the station was, and vaguely wondered what time it was. He checked his phone and cursed.

"Midnight?" he exclaimed. Mementos must have some sort of distortion in how time works, because he knew for a fact that he was not there for three hours. Yu began to make his way back to the Wilton Hotel, when his phone began to ring. Seeing it was Rise, he prepared for the worst. "Uh, hey Rise," he greeted meekly.

"SENPAI!" she shouted on the other end. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Shibuya station," he replied. "I, um, lost track of time."

"You were supposed to meet with the Nao-kun and the rest of them!" Yu could tell she was relieved, but still upset. "Can you just hurry back? They already booked a room for the night…"

"Yea, I'm on my way now," he answered tiredly. Rise thanked him and hung up. 'I really need to stop worrying her…'

* * *

5/30 Shujin Academy: Morning

* * *

Akira appeared to be taking notes, but in reality, he was doodling in the margins of his notebook. He wasn't remotely paying attention to the lecture, and was trying to convince himself that Madarame's change of heart was going to occur any day now. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

"DID U GUYS HEAR?" wrote Ryuji.

"No what?" Ann asked.

"Madarame's exhibit is closings early!"

"What?" Akira whispered to himself.

"What? Any idea why?" Ann pestered.

"Yusuke, do know anything?" Akira quickly wrote.

"I'm afraid not.  
I haven't seen Sensei since we left his Palace."

"There goes that idea," Morgana sighed. "What do you think, Akira?"

"It has to be," he nodded. "Let's look into it more after school."

"Right," agreed the cat.

* * *

Wilton Hotel: Rise's Suite

* * *

"Alright, we're all here," Rise sighed solemnly. "No thanks to _you_."

"I said I was sorry," Yu sighed.

"What happened last night, anyway?" asked Chie, a bit annoyed. "We were wandering around the station for an hour before we decided to find a place to sleep."

"While it wasn't too much of a hassle, I would also like to know what was the cause of your absence last night," agreed Naoto. Though her tone was neutral, the entire team knew she was a bit put off too.

"I-," he began, before getting a glare from Rise. "I just lost track of time. I'm sorry, I should've been more attentive…"

"It's alright, Senpai," Kanji assured with a heavy pat on the back. "You were probably just thinkin' of Ted and Yosuke, right? They'll pull through, I know it."

The two girls recoiled slightly. Yosuke was Yu's best friend; of course he won't be as collected as normal.

"What matters now is that we all go see him," Yukiko offered. "You said the nurses said that Yosuke was stable, right?"

"Yea," Yu nodded. "His arm and leg were broken, but the rest of him was just bruised. I didn't get the chance to ask when he was expected to wake up, so-,"

"- _me_!" said a distant voice.

"What was that?" asked Rise. "Did any of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Kanji.

"Shh, there it is again," Rise whispered.

" _Can any_ -,"

"I heard it that time!" Yu nodded. He hopped to his feet and began to investigate where the voice was coming from. The rest of the investigation team followed suit, silently listening to the quiet voice.

"- _ver here_!"

"I think I found it," Yukiko announced. "It's coming from the television set."

"No way," Kanji muttered. "Is that Ted?"

* * *

Tokyo: General Hospital, earlier that morning

* * *

"Oh, my head," cried a patient. He sat up in his bed and began to look around. "Where am I?"

He noticed a pair of doctors walk by his room, idly talking. One of them made eye contact for a moment and then stopped walking. The other doctor looked confused, until he followed his gaze towards him. They exchanged few more words, before the second doctor rushed into the room, and the second turned around and left in a brisk walk.

"Sir, you shouldn't be up!" warned the doctor.

"Why not?" he asked. He took a look at where the doctor gestured, and his eyes widened. He had bandages all over his chest and stomach. What's more, he had a cast on his right arm that he had just become aware of. For a moment, he was confused, but then grew annoyed. "Rawwr, why did you guys dress me up as a mummy? I already have a costume!"

"W-what?" the doctor asked befuddled. "You aren't in any pain?"

"I have a little headache, but other than that, I feel beary good!" He began to take the bandages off, revealing his unmarred flesh. "Where's my fur?"

"Your what?"

"My fur!" repeated Teddie, annoyed. "It's super soft, and blue! There are big red buttons on it too!"

Teddie hopped off the bed, and began to wander around the hospital. The doctor quickly gave chase after him, but Teddie was gone.

* * *

Midnight Channel

* * *

Teddie fell flat on his face as he landed in some random place in his home world. He sniffed the air, but didn't find a trace of any Shadows. Furrowing his brow, he continued to look around. Maybe there was some area that was allowing the Shadows to enter the real world, and that's why he smelled them on that bus.

"If the Shadows aren't coming from here…" he wondered aloud. "I need to find Sensei!"

Teddie followed his nose, and was surprised that he caught a whiff of Yu, along with Rise. He faintly smelled the rest of the Investigation Team, likely due to them not having spent much time in the area. He ran as fast as he could, idly reminding himself to make another suit. He felt absolutely naked without it. With his world no longer plagued by Shadows, Teddie didn't have a hard time finding the source of the scent. Once he thought himself close enough, he began to shout.

"Sensei! Rise-chan! Can you hear me?" His ears perked a little, trying to hear their conversation, but it was useless. Inhaling as much air as he could, he roared again. "CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?"

This time, he swore he heard faint shuffling.

"I'm over here!" he called out.

"- _found him! …–ing from-… -vision set_."

" _No way. Is that Ted_?"

"Yes!" Teddie shouted, hopping up and down. "I'm in here! Stick your hand in the T.V. so I can connect the worlds!"

* * *

Rise's Suite

* * *

"Teddie is in the Midnight Channel?" asked Chie. "I thought… you said that he-!"

"I know," Yu said, unable to hide his grin. Without hesitation, he plunged his entire arm into the television set. He waved it back and forth, until he felt Teddie grab a hold of his hand. With a mighty heave, he yanked out the costume-less bear.

"Sensei!" Teddie greeted.

"Teddie, what were you doing in there?" asked Rise. "We saw you in the hospital!"

"There's no time for that," he replied, uncharacteristically serious. He turned back to Yu. "Sensei, before the accident, I smelled traces of Shadows in the real world."

The room suddenly became silent. Kanji, however, noticed Yu's expression.

"You knew," he realized. "Senpai, you knew?"

"Not exactly," he sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well, you better start talking then!" Chie said firmly. "If there's Shadows here, we need to get rid of them, right Teddie?"

"Wait, Yu-kun, what _do_ you know?" asked Naoto. "It would be unwise for us to jump to conclusions."

Yu looked over to Rise, and made an apologetic expression.

"It started two days ago, when I saw this cat at a diner," he began.

"Kay, I wasn't expectin' the story to start off like that," Kanji laughed.

* * *

Café Leblanc: After School

* * *

"I don't believe it," Akira said, unable to hide his smile. "We did it!"

"Never underestimate the power of the Phantom Thieves," Morgana said with conviction. The two watched the news in Akira's room, were Maradarame was issuing public apology. He had gone over the plagiarism, as well as screwing over his student's lives when they tried to break from his clutches. The man had even shed a tear when he began Yusuke's story, which earned him a half-empty cup of soda being thrown at him from an angry member of the crowd.

"That takes care of two problems," Akira sighed.

"Right, that other Persona user…" Morgana sighed. "Say, did you ever get his name?"

"I didn't," admitted Akira. "Although I guess it doesn't matter much at this point, since we shouldn't be seeing him anymore. Madarame confessed to everything I told him, so he has to believe us now."

"Right," nodded Morgana. "I guess it's time for you to unwind for a little while, huh? I can't imagine what it's like to be threatened with going to jail…"

"We found you in a cell in Kamoshido's Palace…" Akira pointed out. Morgana laughed awkwardly.

"Well, I had an escape plan, honest!"

"Were you planning on two random teenagers finding you, and then believing you weren't a spy?"

"Hey, Ryuji was the one who put that idea in your head!"

"I know," Akira grinned. "I like to think myself a pretty good judge of character."

"Well, then what's the plan for tomorrow then? Are we going to celebrate?"

"I don't think it's in our budget right now to do that… I really need to get another job."

"Why don't you work for that flower shop in the mall?"

"Eh, it's a start." He then heard a voice from downstairs.

"I'm going now, don't forget to lock up," Sojiro called out. "I'll change the sign on my way out."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So, I decided to update as many stories as I could on Christmas Eve, so Merry (Early) Christmas to those who celebrate it, and to those who don't... Here's a new chapter.**

* * *

Omake: Alternative chapter ending.

* * *

"So should we celebrate?" asked the cat, eyeing Akira expectantly.

"I really don't have the money for that," Akira admitted, albeit without making eye contact.

"What do you mean? You guys pick up a ton of loot from Mementos, and earn money beating Shadows! Where does all your money go?"

"Why should I tell you?" asked Akira, his eyes darting to the cardboard box in his room. Morgana noticed this, and immediately left to see what was in it. "Wait, it's not what it looks like!"

"What, do you have pervy magazines in here?" the cat asked. He got behind the shelf and began to push the box on the floor.

"NO, of course not!" he denied.

"Then what's in here?" the cat demanded. "Why is it so heavy?"

"It's nothing!" insisted Akira. Morgana finally tipped the box over, and out came dozens and dozens of different sodas.

"What the-?"

"You don't understand," Akira continued, as he began to pick up each can.

"Why do you have so much soda? Can you even drink this all?"

"No, it's not meant for drinking!" he replied annoyed. "I'm trying to get a trophy..."

"Say again?" the cat asked.

"A trophy?"

"For what? Fastest person to become diabetic?"

"No, I have to buy ever kind of soda from every vending machine in Tokyo..."

Morgana looked flabbergasted. He looked at the cans, and shook his head. He hopped on top of Akira's bed, and sat. The teen simply sighed, and began to walk down the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To get more soda..." Akira replied sheepishly. Suddenly, something in the cat's head clicked, and a phrase came into mind.

"Aren't you tired today?" he asked. "Let's go to sleep already." Akira ignored the cat, but found he couldn't move any further down the stairs.

"What the hell?" He took a step back up, then tried to go back down, but his body refused to listen.

"Aren't you tired today? Let's go to sleep already," repeated the cat.

"How are you doing this?" Akira asked, eyes wide. Out of pettiness, the teen walked over to his work desk.

"Let's not do that today."

"DAMN YOU!" Akira shouted.


	4. Another Level

Chapter 4: Another Level

* * *

5/30

* * *

"If we weren't involved with the Midnight Channel back in Inaba, I'd say this is ridiculous…" Naoto sighed under her breath. She, Kanji and Teddie followed Yu to the subway station in Shibuya.

"I still think it's pretty bonkers," Kanji shrugged, rubbing his nose. "I mean an app? Kids these days have it good..."

"You can imagine my surprise when I tried opening it and I got sucked in," Yu laughed. While he was glad that his friends had his back, he felt bad that Rise couldn't make it. Because of that, Chie and Yukiko stayed behind, while Naoto, Kanji and Teddie came along with him. He figured it would be better this way, as he was used to working with a team of four anyway.

"So this world is like my world?" asked Teddie.

"I don't really know much about it," Yu admitted. "I hadn't thought to ask Joker about it, since I was a bit too focused on finding out why he was doing what he was doing."

"You said they steal hearts," Naoto begun, "but in doing so, they change who they are?"

"He kept using hearts and 'twisted desires' interchangeably, and sometimes treasure. It's was really hard to keep up, but I didn't want him to repeat himself after every sentence, so I just nodded."

"You interrogated some punk, an' you weren't even listenin'?" Kanji asked in disbelief. "How are you related to Dojima?"

"Sensei probably had a lot on his mind," Teddie defended. "Speaking of which, where are we going, Sensei? We've been walking around this station for a beary long time, but nothing looks strange."

"Oh, we're already here," he replied, "I was just looking for this stand that sold me a drink the other day."

"Oh, I see," nodded the bear.

"We're walking around for a drink?" asked Kanji. "Damnit, Yu-senpai, I wanna kick some Shadow ass!"

"Alright, alright," Yu conceded, not having found the stand. "Let's all gather here, I don't know the radius of this thing yet…"

"The app, you mean?" asked Naoto, her voice still laced with amusement. Yu nodded, and the four huddled together as he pushed it. The world around them began to warp, and Yu braced himself for the disorientation that came with it. To his satisfaction, he didn't fall over this time, although the same couldn't be said for his friends.

"I guess I should have warned you guys," he laughed awkwardly.

"Sensei, what are you wearing?" asked Teddie, now in his classic bear costume.

"It's another quirk of this world, I think," Yu shrugged. He took in Teddie's appearance and nodded approvingly. "Nice.

Teddie looked at himself, and began jumping up and down joyfully. "My fur! It's back!"

"Tha's awesome!" Kanji agreed, before realizing what he was wearing. He wore the dark purple Kingpin Duster the strange fox had given Yu. The only modification was the full skull facial mask that resembled his Persona's face. "The hell is this?"

"Your new clothes, I'm assuming, Kanji-kun," Naoto mused. She wore a brown outfit that seemed to be straight out of a detective novel, and her mask was a simple masquerade mask with a crown-like forehead piece.

"You takin' that Detective Prince pretty seriously still?" Kanji asked back, hiding a smirk. "Seriously though, Yu, what's up with this stuff?"

"I still don't know," Yu shrugged.

"Wah, why didn't I get a new mask or anything?" Teddie whined.

"That doesn't really matter right now," Naoto sighed. "Where are we going, Yu-kun?"

"Down that way," Yu pointed toward the stairs to the subway. "It'll be easier if you just saw it yourself. It's actually pretty different than the Midnight Channel."

* * *

Akira sat in class, both relieved that Madarame had confessed, and incredibly bored that he was in school at the moment. The three others wanted to explore Mementos again, as Morgana had said that with more popularity, the deeper they'd be able to go. Mishima had informed Akira earlier that morning that the Phan-site was getting loads of traffic, and their poll was at an all-time high.

"You really think we should be going back in there so soon?" Akira asked the cat in whisper.

"That guy said if Madarame confessed, he'd leave us alone, didn't he? Why wouldn't we go? Now's the perfect chance to get past that door on the lowest level."

"I think we should be a bit better prepared this time around," Akira sighed. "We need some smoke-screens and Goho-M's. There aren't any Safe Rooms in Mementos, just those weird bus stations."

"Good thinking," Morgana said with approval. "Should we contact the others? If we do now, they should have enough time to prepare if they need. Especially Yusuke, since he's from another school and all."

"Yea, I think that's our best course of action," nodded the Trickster.

"Kurusu-kun," Kamakami called out. "Please stay after class after the bell."

Akira sighed inwardly and nodded in acknowledgement, just as the bell rang.

"I'll wait for you in front of school," Ann whispered to him as she headed out. The Phantom Thief leader stood up and approached Kamakami.

"Yes, Sensei?" he asked politely. "Am I in trouble?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me," she sighed. As the last of the students had finished filing out, she turned back to Akira. "I'm only telling you this because you're keeping my secret, but I overheard Principal Kobayakawa talking to the Student Council president about keeping tabs on you and your friends. I need you to be more careful around campus, alright? Nijima-san is diligent, and it will only take one slip up from any of the three of you for her to report something back."

"I-I see," Akira replied, taken aback. When he had established the Confidant link with her, he had expected a little more time before they talked again. She must really be concerned over her second job. "Thank you, Kawakami-sensei."

"I'm doing this for both our sakes," she reminded. "I can trust you won't cause any trouble for me from now on, right?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"Very well, you're dismissed…" Akira began to walk away, but was halted by his teacher's voice once more. "One more thing, actually…When you're slacking off in class… can you keep your activities a little more subtle? You have quite the number of eyes watching you make those… things."

"I'll be more careful."

* * *

Ann tapped her foot as she waited outside the gates of Shujin. Once she saw the familiar mop of messy black hair, she shook Ryuji to get his attention.

"He's here," she told him, getting an annoyed grunt. "Akira! Over here!"

Akira quickly closed the distance, and made a subtle shushing gesture. He casually stood next to Ryuji, as if to show him something, keeping his eyes back at the school. Sure enough, Makoto was conveniently checking her bag for something.

"What's up, Akira?" asked Ryuji. "You're acting weird."

"Nijima is watching us," Akira whispered. "Don't look, it'll tip her off."

"Uh, ok," he replied confused. "Why though?"

"I don't know, but Kawakami tipped me off that the principal is trying to keep tabs on us."

"Why would she do that?" asked Ann.

"She just doesn't want to fill out anymore paperwork after Kamoshida tried to expel us," he lied smoothly. "Regardless of reason, she was right. Makoto has been following me since I left my class, even after I went into the bathroom."

"She followed you in?" asked Ryuji incredulously.

"No, not in, she waited outside until I came out," clarified Akira. "That's not important. The point is we have to be more careful around here. No more Phantom Thieves business while we're at school."

"What about Mishima?" asked Ann. "He's always raving about how great they are and constantly talks to you about requests."

"I already talked to him," Akira sighed. "He's got the point."

"Ugh, this is shitty!" groaned Ryuji. "Why do we have to snoop around if we're the good guys?!"

"Not everybody sees it that way," Morgana sighed regrettably, making his presence known. "Not everybody agrees with what the Phantom Thieves do; just look at the comments on the Phan-site!"

"This bites," Ryuji sighed. "Alright, wha's the plan for today anyway?"

"We talked about it, and Joker and I think it would be our best course of action to go to Mementos. After Kamoshida confessed, we were able to go deeper, so it's not too much of a stretch to think that it would happen again."

"You got a point," agreed Ann. "I'll text Yusuke."

* * *

Yu and his group walked down the tunnels of Mementos, a bit frustrated that all the Shadows continued to flee if they made their presence known.

"So… these new guys… they struggle wit' these?" asked Kanji, a bit disappointed. "They're barely a threat."

"I don't know if they struggle, but there are only two floors I was able to explore before I realized how late it must have been."

"Why don't we try to get on the train?" asked Teddie. "It seems to be a lot faster than walking."

"While the idea does seem to have some merit, Teddie, I don't see a way for us to get to that side," pointed out Naoto. "How far down are we?"

"It's hard to tell without Rise navigating us," admitted Yu, "but we've only been down like 5 or 6 floors. I stopped keeping track to be honest…"

"What about you, Teddie, is ya sniffer working again?" asked Kanji. Teddie nodded, and began to take deep breaths. "Anythin'?"

"Just more of these weak shadows," he replied. He turned his attention back to Yu. "Say, Sensei, you said that these new Persona users have code names, do you think we should get some too?"

"What would we refer to each other as?" asked Yu, before he narrowed his eyes at the bear. "If you even think about calling me the 'Sister-Complex Kingpin of Steel', I'll skin you."

"Whaa? I would never!" Teddie denied immediately.

"I thought we were never talkin' about those nicknames!" Kanji reminded, palming his face in embarrassment. He never wanted to be referred to any kind of beefcake, much less a bloodcurdling one.

"Regardless, I think Teddie might be on to something," noted Naoto. "Even if they are teenagers, the group don't seem to need much to find their potential targets. I've looked on the Phan-site, and the request only give out people's names and what they've done. Without having access to law enforcement databases, it shouldn't be possible for the Phantom Thieves to find their targets so efficiently, especially if they are as young as we were when we started."

"What makes you think that they're high schoolers?" asked Yu, genuinely curious.

"Given the patterns regarding _our_ predecessors, it wouldn't be much of a stretch," she pointed out. "I think it would be best if we were cautious from this point on."

"You're right," agreed Yu, though the group remained silent in thought. "What should we call ourselves?"

"I dunno," shrugged Kanji. "What did we call ourselves befor'?"

"We were just the Investigation Team," Naoto recalled, rubbing her chin.

"Ooh, ooh, how about we call ourselves—,"

"If it has a bear pun, no," Kanji cut Teddie off. The bear pouted slightly, looking at the ground. "What do ya think, Senpai?"

"I guess IT works," he shrugged. "It doesn't really matter what our group is called, unless you guys want a website too."

"He's right," Naoto agreed. "But we should have some sort of code name to refer to each other while down here. If we're given these strange masks in this place, we should at least try to protect our identities."

"Why don't we just call ourselves by our Persona?" suggested Kanji with a shrug. "I liked Take-Mikazuchi."

The three others exchanged looks, and shrugged.

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Yu replied. "Although, I'd rather not be called twenty-two different names, Izanagi is fine."

"You do look like him," Naoto smirked. "Alright, so, shall we go further down?"

The four began their walk down, Yu leading as always. Teddie would occasionally point out a treasure nearby that he smelled, but after the first eight containing low-level equipment, they opted to ignore them. Eventually, they ended up in a room with a huge door of sorts that prevented them from going any further.

"This blows," Kanji drawled out, bored. "Man, these shadows ain't nothin', and now there's a damn wall here?"

"I sense something behind this," Teddie informed, taking small sniffs. He began walking towards the door, when he suddenly stopped, and began to sniff back towards the entrance. "Oh no… this is bad… Beary bad!"

"What's wrong, Teddie?" asked Naoto, drawing her gun. She pointed it to the staircase the descended from, but nothing appeared.

"We have to get going, NOW!" Teddie nearly shouted, running back towards the entrance. Confused, the three others quickly followed him.

* * *

With Phantom Thieves

* * *

Ryuji kicked the third empty chest in frustration, nearly clubbing it with his mace.

"Calm down, Skull!" Morgana hissed. "It's empty, let's go!"

"This is stupid!" he argued. "These chest are supposed to fill up again when we leave!"

"This isn't some stupid video game," Ann scoffed rolling her eyes. "We probably just missed them the first time around."

Ryuji got back into the cat bus, grumbling under his breath the entire time. Akira raised and eyebrow, but decided to stay quiet.

"We should get going," Yusuke suggested. "We've been on this floor for quite a long time, we'll exhaust ourselves before we get to the bottom."

"Well somebody insisted that we 'loot every chest we find'," mocked Ann, looking over to Ryuji.

"You all agreed to it before we found all these stupid empty boxes!" he shot back, crossing his arms. "Whatever, let's just go kick some ass, I'm tired of nothin' happening. Where are all the damn shadows, anyway?"

"That is strange," Morgana agreed. "We haven't encountered a single shadow since we arrived…"

"Didn't they run away at a certain point?" asked Ann. "Like that weird one in that vase back at the museum?"

"Those were special shadows," Morgana informed. "Those are… unique, but most normal shadows are just aggressive over a certain area of theirs. It's really weird for there not to be a single one in such a huge area."

Akira took in all the information, but simply continued to drive. He turned left, only to find himself at another dead-end. Shifting into reverse, he began to back out, before pulling out his makeshift map and crossing out the route.

"This place is dumb," Ryuji continued to complain. Ann glared at him for a bit, before something caught her ears.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" asked Yusuke, putting down his sketchpad. The three teens and cat bus went silent, when they heard very distant rattling.

"Are… are those chains?" asked Akira, confused. He began to turn the bus around, when Morgana's eyes widened.

"We have to get out of here!" he said urgently. "Joker, take us back to the entrance!"

The leader didn't hesitate in listening, but confused, he asked, "Why?"

"This isn't a normal shadow, it's the Reaper!" Morgana explained, as he exerted himself to go faster. To the four's horror, the chains got louder. "Oh no, Joker, turn left!"

"The entrance is to the right!" Akira pointed out, "left is another dead-end!" Morgana, in his panic, took control for himself and veered left anyway. "We're going to be cornered!"

Sure enough, the bus's headlights revealed another empty box that Ryuji had thrown to the ground. The rattling was nearly deafening, and the three Phantom Thieves got out of Morgana and turned to face their adversary. Morgana shifted back into his cat form, and drew his sword in a shaky hand.

"Get a hold of yourself, Mona," Ryuji said harshly. Truthfully, Morgana's lack of confidence was beginning to shake him, knowing that the cat was full of himself in nearly every scenario. Soon, the group of four saw a large figure floating towards them, almost deliberately enjoying their fear. It seemed to be able to sense where they were, as it didn't bother making any turns that could have bought them a chance to rush past it. Instead, it was in the center of the tracks, easily able to reach either wall if it wished. The tattered black cloaks that surrounded it were covered in two chains that made the horrible rattling sound. Its head seemed to be pointed straight up, not bothering to look where it was heading.

"What the heck is that?!" Ann shrieked. She gripped her whip tighter, and her off hand hovering over her submachine gun.

"I have no idea," Yusuke said with wide eyes. The massive shadow stopped a few feet from them, and its head began to twitch, making terrible popping and cracking sounds as it did, until it shifted its gaze at them. It had a lone eye and was drenched in what appeared to be blood. What's more, he carried two revolvers with excessively long barrels. It lifted one and pointed it to the air. With a final twitch of its head, it let off a shot and an exhale that nearly sounded like a roar. Akira was the first to snap out of it, and began to bark out orders.

"Mona, stay back, and keep your Dia spells ready, Skull don't use any physical skills, Panther, hit him with Agi. Fox, get ready to switch with anybody who takes a big hit." Akira once again reached for his mask and called out to Eligor. "Double Fangs!"

The Reaper didn't flinch as the two hits connected, not noticing the small spark of fire and lightning. It raised its gun once more, and a small blue tint emerged from the barrel. Without a word, the five were surrounded by a frigid air that suddenly causes a cold snap that nearly knocked out Ann, had she not evaded the worst of it. The Reaper then raised its other gun, and a green tint emerged. A storm of rapid winds cut into the Phantom Thieves, bringing them all down. Ryuji had it the worst, as he was struggling to breathe.

"Skull!" Morgana groaned. He raised his sword, and Zorra cast Dia on him. A gentle breeze surrounded Ryuji, but he was still barely able to stand. Ann reacted next and cast Media, healing everybody just enough to stay conscious.

"Joker… I don't think we're going to be able to defeat this foe…" Yusuke panted. He was leaning on his sword, wincing in pain. Akira gritted his teeth, and switched back to Arsene.

"Dream Needle!" he shouted, hoping against hope that the sleep affect would take effect. Once again, the Reaper didn't flinch, and almost seemed to laugh. It raised its gun, this time pointing directly at Akira. For a moment, the leader of the Phantom Thieves thought that it would all end here. The cries from his team began to tune out as the only thing on his mind was the barrel inches away from his face. Then there was a gunshot.

"Tetrakarn!" shouted a woman's voice.

"Mediarahan!" shouted another, this one sounding much younger.

Akira had closed his eyes, but at the sound of a strange reflecting noise, he looked up. The Reaper itself flinched from its own attack, and turned its attention down the tunnel. Akira, on the other hand, felt completely rejuvenated. He looked over to where the voices had come from, and was surprised to see a very round blue bear wearing a red suit and somebody dressed eerily similar to Sherlock Holmes.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself. He looked over to his team, and they were all feeling the same cool healing magic.

"Hey, don't start the fight without me!" shouted a third voice, this one a much deeper than the previous two. Upon arriving, the rather tall man raised his arm in almost a cheer. "YES! We haven't fought him in years!"

"W-what?!" Morgana squeaked from behind. This man has already fought the Reaper, yet, was _excited_ at the chance to fight it again? "What level are these guys on…?"

"Rokuten-Maou!" called out the newcomer, as a massive red Persona materialized behind him. The four teens and Morgana watched with wide eyes. "You know what to do, FUCK HIM UP!"

The massive red robotic Persona simply raised its sword and summoned a wicked lightning bolt from above that struck the Reaper with a frightening amount of impact. What's more, the man grabbed a broken piece of railroad track and began wielding as a makeshift club.

"Ay, Te—err—Kintoki, get these kids outta here," he shouted back, as he evaded a gunshot from the Reaper at nearly point blank range.

"Right!" called out Teddie. "Hey Phantom Kids, come here!"

"Who are you people?" shouted Ryuji, his confusion irritating him.

"They're a couple of friends," answered Yu, making his presence known. He arrived behind Naoto, in almost an overly dramatic fashion. His coat whipped around him, and he was tightening the white headband around his head. "Come on, Joker, let Kintoki and Sukuna lead your team to safety. Mikazuchi and I will take care of this." He turned to Naoto and gestured to go along with Teddie.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking over to the Reaper. It wasn't close to going down, but neither was Kanji. Yu nodded silently, and raised his hand as a blue card appeared. He took a few more steps forward, as the Phantom Thieves reluctantly walked towards Teddie. Without a word, Yu crushed the card and the familiar Naginata wielding Persona emerged with a flash of lightning.

"Tarukaja," Yu muttered, giving Kanji a boost in power. He uttered it again for himself, then ran straight into the fight. Akira watched in awe as the two individuals not only commanded their Personas to fight without much spoken words, but fought alongside with them in tandem. It was a strange but almost mesmerizing thing to watch; how flawlessly both of the duos fought. The Reaper let off several magic attacks, mostly Garu skills, but both seemed to evade them almost effortlessly.

"I believe it would be safer if you and the rest of your team make your way towards the entrance," Naoto urged, snapping Akira from his stupor. "They'll meet you there once they finish here. Let's go."

"R-right," Akira replied. Normally, he wouldn't want to take orders from a stranger, but if she was anywhere close to the power of the two men fighting the Reaper, he didn't want to get on her bad side.

Meanwhile, Kanji was laughing a deep and hearty laugh as another lightning bolt struck. "Brings ya back, don't it Senpai?"

"That it does," Yu said with a small smirk. Izanagi blocked a gunshot from the Reaper with its Naginata, and lunged forward. "The Reaper is as strong as ever."

"You're tellin' me," Kanji chuckled. "I've got hit a few times by his gun, and it hurts just as much as I remembered." Kanji had always been able to take the most damage, but the impact those guns had was nothing to scoff at. As a result, Kanji quickly remembered how to dodge. Luckily, he retained his Regenerate skill all this time, and was able to heal a few of the bruises already as the fight continued.

"Don't get reckless on me," Yu replied, continuing the banter, as he rolled to the side to evade another gunshot. "Though, I _can_ always heal you."

"Nah, Senpai, I ain't wanna rely on ya guys' Dia skills like before." Kanji and Rokuten surrounded the Reaper, ensuring to read his movements. "I'll just do what I do best."

"Of course," Yu said with a confident nod. He moved his coat aside, revealing his strongest sword sheathed at his side. Gripping the hilt, he felt a familiar surge of power as he drew it. Izanagi rushed forward, Yu not far behind as the Reaper was beginning to slow down. They were making progress rather quickly, and with a final slash, the massive shadow began to wither away and fade into smoke.

* * *

"Who are you?" Ann asked as she caught her breath. The two that had escorted them back to the entrance weren't exactly intimidating in how they dressed, in fact the bear was quite cute, but they held an atmosphere of power that radiated off them. The bear's ears twitched a bit, then turned to her. He was about to speak, when he caught himself.

"I'm Kintoki-Douji! Sensei's most valuable teammate!"

"Sensei?" asked Ryuji. "That dude is a teacher?"

"Not exactly, no," interrupted Naoto, crossing her arms in thought. She absently rubbed her chin as she looked over to the groups of teens. "You can all call me Sukuna. I assume you are the fabled Phantom Thieves?"

"Yes," answered Akira, walking towards the shorter Persona user. "That other guy said he'd leave us alone if Madarame confessed, and he did. What's this all about?"

Ryuji and Ann's eyes widened a bit. Akira was never confrontational, and the group of adults were clearly much stronger than their own group, so this put them on edge. How would the serious woman react?

"I was told little about your arrangement with Izanagi, but that is of little concern to me," Naoto replied easily. She looked at the group's attire, as well as their weapons. "I don't know much about this world, so tell me, why are you all dressed in ridiculous costumes and running around with fake guns?"

"Like you two can say shit about ridiculous costumes," Ryuji scoffed, before getting the back of his head slapped by Ann. He winced, but then realized the rest of her question. "W-whoa, how do you know they're fake?"

"Shut up, Skull!" Ann urged, annoyed with his constantly running mouth.

Naoto simply chuckled to herself as she reached towards her hip. "The answer is simple. I've handled and used a firearm for years. While the replicas you're all carrying might convince the layman, you'll all have to do a bit better than that to fool me."

"Yo, this chick's a cop?" asked Ryuji, rubbing his head. It wasn't then until he noticed the faint gleam on her jacket. Sure enough, it was some sort of badge. What's more, she gestured to her holster that was concealed by her coat. The majority of the Phantom Thieves froze. Were they all cops? Were they going to arrest them? Naoto turned to Akira and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You must be Joker, the leader of this merry group, I presume?"

"Yeah," admitted Akira, recovering from the revelation first. He gestured his team to back away. "I don't know a whole lot about the Metaverse, and I told everything I know to your friend back there… Thanks for saving us by the way."

Naoto simply nodded in acknowledgement, then began to think some more, occasionally mumbling to herself. Akira sighed in relief before he nearly was knocked back by the bear appearing inches from his face.

"Say, what were you all thinking back there? The Reaper is beary powerful to try to take on."

"We weren't trying to fight him," Akira replied, composing himself.

"Then why'd you open the chest?"

"The what?" Akira furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The Reaper only appears when you open twenty-two chests in a row. Didn't any of you sense it?"

"What are you talking about? The Reaper shows up if we spend too much time on one floor," Morgana replied, walking to Akira's side. "What's this about chests?"

"Ooooh, so this place is like Mit-chan's school!" Teddie realized. He had always been intrigued by 'randomly generated' dungeons, as the Midnight Channel tended to stay relatively the same as the first time they encountered it.

"Mit-chan's…? There's more of you!?" Akira asked taken aback.

"Huh? Of course there are! In fact, there are—,"

"We're back!" called out Kanji, interrupting Teddie. The group all turn towards the duo nonchalantly walk back, not looking any worse for wear. The Phantom Thieves looked in shock, realizing that two individuals casually defeated a shadow that nearly killed their own party in a few moves. Kanji noticed the stares and narrowed his eyes a bit. "The hell are y'all lookin' at?"

"It seems that they thought you two would take longer," Naoto noted with an amused smile so small, the Phantom Thieves didn't see it. "Are you two alright?"

"Yea, the bastard landed a few hits on me," admitted Kanji, ignoring the teenagers. "Nothin' I can't handle though. Senpai and I ripped him a new one."

"It has been a while since we've been on the field like this, it's only natural that we are as sluggish as we are."

 _Did she say sluggish?_ Akira thought to himself.

"So, anyway," Yu began, seeing the strange looks he was getting. "These are the Phantom Thieves, the Persona users I mentioned."

"We still don't know who you are!" Ann shouted, annoyed at the chain of events. It was one thing to have her back to the wall and nearly die, but to hear a few other subtle bragging about how strong they were began to grate her nerves.

"Yea, how do we know you ain't up to no good?" asked Ryuji, backing up Ann. "You oughta tell us something about you."

"You damn punks!" Kanji growled, getting both teens to take a step back. "We saved your asses back there, and Kintoki healed you up! How about some damn gratitude?"

"Calm down," Yu said calmly, placing a hand on the taller male's shoulder. "They almost died, give them a minute to collect themselves." Naoto stepped forward, putting herself between Kanji and the Thieves.

"You don't have any reason to trust us," Naoto freely admitted. "In fact, if you could argue that we saved you for our own selfish reasons, or that we were the ones who set the Reaper on you in the first place." The Investigation Team didn't bother appearing confused, as Naoto always seemed to be going somewhere with her ramblings. "However, we do know a fair amount about your group. I have been keeping tabs on the media as of late, and last night I had a lot of time to research the notorious 'Phantom Thieves.' Would you like to hear what I've collected?"

Though they gave no audible response, Akira nodded, a bit nervously. Naoto allowed a small smirk to form on her face.

"Very well, let's start with the fact that you are all, save for the cat, in high school. I know this because Izanagi mentioned a teacher who had a 'sudden change of heart' just last month. He was involved in some sex scandal involving his students, as well as physically abusing those he coached. I believe his name was Kamoshida, and given that the story has not gone public until after the confession, and that the Phantom Aficionado website, or Phan-site, as it has been taken to being called, had not existed yet. This means that the only people who knew of these crimes were the students and faculty at that school, and to be honest, none of you appear to be old enough to be a teacher.

"Then there was Madarame, some artist who had his show here in Tokyo. While his confession yesterday appeared genuine, and a lot was hard to make out between his sobbing, one thing caught my ear. He had a pupil he took in living with him; a student attending another high school a train ride away from this station. From what I've gathered, both of these individuals has done something to you or somebody in your group to target them. So tell me, how am I doing?"

In a rare moment, Naoto allowed herself to sound a bit smug with her findings. From the shocked expressions that each Phantom Thief wore, she wasn't too far off the mark.

"Now, I was able to figure out this much with a couple of names, public sources and a single late night. Imagine what evidence I could gather if I were to dedicate all my resources to taking you down. I'm sure if I were to question a few teachers about who Kamoshida was particularly connected with I'd figure out your identities within the week. If I want to get it done faster, as your blond friend figured out, I could just walk into the police station and request to look over their notes. There is little stopping me from figuring out who you all are, and if I wished it, you would all be behind bars."

"Um, Sukuna?" interrupted Yu in a whisper, tapping her shoulder. "I think you've scared them enough."

"Yeah man," Kanji shuddered slightly, a dust of pink coloring his face. "You're getting all… uh, evil mastermind on them." _Damn I love a strong woman…_

"As I was saying," Naoto acknowledged, clearing her throat to hide her embarrassment. She turned back to the Phantom Thieves. "I _could_ do all of that, however, I haven't nor will I. Izanagi believes you're all doing the right thing, and I trust him. So, taking into account that none of you have any way of figuring out who we are, save, attempting to follow us after we leave here, I'd say you should give us a little credit."

"Dude…" Ryuji whispered, feeling utterly powerless. The rest of the Phantom Thieves felt something similar, an air of defeat hanging thick.

"Izanagi trusts us?" Akira asked. Yu looked over, and nodded.

"But he attacked us!" Ryuji accused.

"Technically we attacked him first," Ann pointed out. Akira agreed, albeit a bit regrettably.

"Alright, so where do we go from here?" asked Akira, scratching his cheek absentmindedly.

"We're trying to figure out where these shadows are coming from," Teddie explained. "They're causing people to go crazy in the real world, and I nearly died!"

"Shut it!" Kanji shushed, knocking on Teddie's head with a closed fist.

"You're talking about those freak accidents?" asked Morgana. "Madarame said that there was a Persona user with a black mask causing all of that."

"We're looking for another Persona user?" Yu asked, disappointedly. He had considered the possibility, especially since he had a complicated relationship with Adachi, who was directly responsible for the deaths of Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano, he just didn't want to believe that there was another person willing to commit atrocious crimes using that power.

"We don't know anything else other than that," admitted Akira.

"Don't worry about it," Yu decided, mulling it over. "You focus on people like Madarame and Kamoshida. We have experience in dealing with other Persona users."

"Are you sure?" asked Naoto, looking at Yu. He looked back at her, with cold steel gray eyes, and nodded with conviction.

"This dungeon was a dead end, but if we can find the bastard causing all these accidents, then I will personally put a stop to him."

Naoto remained quiet, although she would discuss the decision with the rest of the Investigation Team once they met up at Rise's room.

"That would relieve a bit a stress," Morgana whispered to Akira. "We could just focus on stealing hearts from these corrupt adults."

Akira nodded, although he didn't see the situation as the cat did. Regardless, he agreed with the older Persona users, and began to head towards the entrance.

"We're done here," he called out to his team. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Omake**

* * *

Akira panted, struggling to get off his knees. Looking at the Reaper defiantly, he spat some blood out of his mouth.

"Just finish it!" he shouted, nearly falling forward from the exertion. There was a wicked gunshot heard, only for the Reaper to fall down before him.

"I don't care if you call "dibs", Teddie, I'm the only person on this team that uses gun, and I've had my eye on that one for years!" an irate voice growled. Akira watched as a short woman with blue hair walked towards the dissipating body of the Reaper, only to pick up one of its revolvers. It was comically over-sized for the woman, but she didn't seem to mind. She stuffed it in her jacket pocket (and to Akira's amazement, it fit), and she continued to walk down the tracks before noticing the fallen Phantom Thieves. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, not exactly," Akira winced. He gestured to the various bleeding bodies around him, and the mysterious woman sighed in annoyance.

"Teddie, resurrect this guy's dead friends!" she called out. She then noticed a small tear on her jacket, where she stuffed the gun in. "And tell Kanji to bring his sewing kit, I popped a seam again."

"Again, Naoto!? Stop stuffin' shit in your pockets!" Kanji roared. "You hafta respect the cloth, damnit! If you wanted somethin' more elastic, I woulda made it like that!"

"What is happening here?" asked Akira. Naoto ignored him.

"You know I hate wearing elastic clothes!" Naoto shouted back, as she continued walking. "Damn it Yu... why do you always stare off into space?"

* * *

Yu looked around the 'Velvet Room' suspiciously. He saw the table where Igor was sat, staring at him with his bulging eyes.

"What the fuck, Igor? Kind of place is this?"

"Forgive me," replied Igor, his voice much deeper than Yu remembered. "You aren't allowed here any longer."

"Uh, yeah I am," Yu replied sarcastically, as he reached into his pocket. He took out his keys and jingled them. "Margaret can't kick me out, I keep a spare Contractor's Key on me all the time. Where is she, anyway?"

"Kick you out?" asked Igor, confused.

"We had a fight..." Yu looked away ashamed for a moment, then sighed. Using his key, he unlocked the cell he was in and walked over to Igor, and sat on his desk. "I call her Rise _one_ time and suddenly, I'm a womanizer."

"Are you?"

"Well, yeah, I can't help it. Chicks dig me, watch." Yu looked over to the twin wardens and did a 'come hither' motion. Confused, the two obliged. "Fuck, Marry, Kill with the people in this room, go."

"W-what?" asked Justine, hiding her blush behind her clipboard. Caroline rubbed her chin in thought.

"Well, I'd definitely marry Justine," she replied, "and between you two, there is no way I'd ever sleep with Igor."

"See? The tsundere knows what's up, and the shy one almost fainted at thinking about me naked."

"Don't call me a tsundere!" Caroline snapped, swinging her cattle prod at Yu. He lazily caught it without looking and continued talking. Justine refused to talk, trying to will the massive blush away.

"What do I do Igor?" Yu asked, ignoring the girl struggling to retrieve her weapon from his grip. "My life is so difficult. All these women... they just can't get enough of me."

"Get the hell out," Igor growled.

"You don't mean that."

"Our master requested that you leave," Justine said from behind her clipboard. "Please, do so, or we will have to resort to force."

"You two couldn't fight me last time, what's different this time?"

"We decided to call in some help," Caroline replied smugly, yanking the cattle prod back. As if on cue, three figures emerged from behind the gallows. "You've met our family, haven't you?"

"Oh shit," Yu whispered, his face going pale. While he remembered Elizabeth's frightening power, as well as not recognizing the male attendant, he locked eyes with Margaret. Had Yu not known her any better, he would assume she was happy to see him, but her stoic expression held a righteous fury that chilled him to the bone. She raised her tome, and a single card began to float, as Elizabeth mimicked her a few moments after. Justine and Caroline rushed to their side, summoning their own Persona's while Theodore stood back awkwardly, twiddling his thumbs.

"Now then," Margaret began, crushing her card. "Shall we begin?"

"I just remembered about this thing I have to do," Yu stammered, inching towards the cell door he came from. "It's way over in, um, literally anywhere else but here."

Yu then made a run for it, as several high level spells were launched by the Velvet Room Attendant Siblings.

* * *

Yu opened his eyes, the familiar blue room greeting him. It was empty, and the limousine brought a wave of nostalgia. He tried to move, but instead, heard a soft voice begin to whisper to him.

 **"Life is truth, and never a dream...  
All souls know this from birth...  
The truth is something that is chosen and grasped...  
Something discovered with one' vision and will.  
Only by gaining that does the seeker become truth himself, a cord that connects past and future.  
But now, our guest's destriny has been severed, and the truth languishes within the hallow, fog-filled forest..."**

"What? I already went through the hallow forest..." Yu muttered to himself. His train of thought was interrupted when he found himself standing in a familiar station. He looked around, confused, then heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, over here!"

"Dojima?" Yu muttered to himself.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo," he commented.

 _Wait a second..._


End file.
